by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Sierra College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Sierra College, 1% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $5,645 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,645. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Sierra College, 2% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $6,951 a year. This is 23.1% higher than the $5,645 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,902 over two years and about $27,804 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,951 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 301 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,092,366 |
The median student at Sierra College borrows $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Sierra College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,600 |
| 25th percentile | $4,300 |
| 75th percentile | $15,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Sierra College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Sierra College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1016 | $16,327 |
| Completed (graduates) | 35 | $17,750 |
| Did not complete | 981 | $16,313 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $211.07/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Sierra College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 955 | $16,449 |
| No Stafford loan | 61 | $13,000 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 44 | $10,943 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 972 | $16,962 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Sierra College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Sierra College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 612 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $5,378 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,854 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Sierra College.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.