by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend South College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At South College, 42% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $8,236 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $7,628. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at South College, freshmen included, 63% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $9,166 per year. This is 20.2% above the freshman federal average of $7,628.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $18,332 in two years and roughly $36,664 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,166 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,002 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $36,682,332 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at South College carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,668 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
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 South College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,940 |
| 25th percentile | $4,000 |
| 75th percentile | $21,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,109 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at South College.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at South College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 925 | $10,868 |
| Completed (graduates) | 383 | $16,549 |
| Did not complete | 542 | $8,289 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $196.79/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at South College.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 827 | $10,750 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 98 | $11,602 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. South College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for South College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 695 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,197 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $9,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,166 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at South College.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.