by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend The Evergreen State College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Evergreen, 45% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $6,634 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,112, representing 92.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at Evergreen, 41% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $7,237 each per year. This works out to 41.6% above the $5,112 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,474 after two years and $28,948 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,237 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 835 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,042,610 |
The median student at Evergreen borrows $15,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,011 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Evergreen.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,992 |
| 25th percentile | $5,594 |
| 75th percentile | $21,291 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,300 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Evergreen.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Evergreen.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 345 | $19,788 |
| Completed (graduates) | 122 | $24,950 |
| Did not complete | 223 | $16,997 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $296.68/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 Evergreen.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 290 | $21,075 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 55 | $16,108 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Evergreen.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Evergreen appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1210 |
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 | $16,283 |
| Middle income | $14,440 |
| High income | $13,629 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,362 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,605 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,960 |
| Independent students | $18,878 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Evergreen.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.