by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend St Petersburg College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at SPC, 11% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $5,856 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,695. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at SPC, freshmen included, 20% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $7,021 a year. This is 23.3% above the $5,695 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,042 over two years and about $28,084 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 20% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,021 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,689 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $25,902,267 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SPC carry a median federal debt of $11,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $16,868 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SPC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,250 |
| 25th percentile | $4,399 |
| 75th percentile | $21,480 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,750 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at SPC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SPC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1221 | $9,750 |
| Completed (graduates) | 361 | $9,400 |
| Did not complete | 860 | $9,980 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $111.78/mo.
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 SPC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1197 | $9,776 |
| No Stafford loan | 24 | $8,614 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 561 | $8,743 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 660 | $10,914 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SPC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SPC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4461 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,526 |
| Middle income | $10,100 |
| High income | $8,484 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,230 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,164 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,897 |
| Independent students | $14,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SPC.
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.
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.