by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Spoon River 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.
Among first-year students at SRC, 16% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,449 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,630, which is 84.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at SRC (freshmen included), 11% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $4,761 in federal loans per year. This works out to 2.8% above the first-year federal average of $4,630.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $9,522 across two years and $19,044 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 | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,761 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 88 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $418,931 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SRC carry a median federal debt of $6,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,750 |
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SRC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SRC.
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 SRC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 81 | $10,800 |
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at SRC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 34 | $9,810 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 47 | $13,863 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SRC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SRC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 159 |
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 | $7,000 |
| Middle income | $6,250 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,993 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,136 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SRC.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
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.