by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend SOWELA Technical Community 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 SOWELA, 1% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $8,297 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 0% |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 0 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $0 |
The middle borrower at SOWELA owes $4,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,250 |
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SOWELA.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 96 | $6,655 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SOWELA.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SOWELA follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 446 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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.
Did You Know?
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.