by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Sweet Briar College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Sweet Briar, 41% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $5,207 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,207, equal to roughly 94.7% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at Sweet Briar, 47% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,549 in federal loans per year. This is 25.8% above the freshman federal average of $5,207.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,098 over two years and about $26,196 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,549 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 216 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,414,614 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Sweet Briar carry a median federal debt of $21,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Sweet Briar.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,149 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Sweet Briar.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Sweet Briar.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 62 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 41 | $17,975 |
| Did not complete | 21 | $14,590 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $213.74/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Sweet Briar.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Sweet Briar is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 126 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $24,219 |
| Middle income | $21,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Sweet Briar.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.