by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Southwest College for the Deaf, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At SWCID, 0% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs.
Looking at all undergraduates at SWCID, freshmen included, 6% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $10,892 each per year.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $21,784 over two years and about $43,568 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 | 6% |
| Average federal loan per year | $10,892 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $32,676 |
The middle borrower at SWCID owes $6,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,119 |
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 SWCID.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,078 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SWCID.
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 SWCID.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 132 | $9,491 |
| Completed (graduates) | 55 | $8,000 |
| Did not complete | 77 | $9,779 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $95.13/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SWCID.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 40 | $8,990 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 92 | $9,491 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SWCID.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for SWCID appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 22.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 551 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,125 |
| Middle income | $5,977 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,213 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,127 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SWCID.
Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.