by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Pillar College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Pillar, 13% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $6,398 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,398. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at Pillar, freshmen included, 43% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $7,789 a year. It comes to 21.7% higher than the $6,398 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,578 after two years and $31,156 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,789 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 204 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,588,946 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Pillar carry a median federal debt of $17,817 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,817 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,483 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,283 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Pillar.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,433 |
| 25th percentile | $6,381 |
| 75th percentile | $27,749 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $42,268 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Pillar.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Pillar.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 22 | $9,787 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Pillar.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Pillar is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 122 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,583 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,359 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Pillar.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Worth Knowing
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.