by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS, 30% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $3,851 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $3,851, which is 70.0% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS, 30% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $3,851 per year.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $7,702 over two years and about $15,404 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 30% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,851 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 46 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $177,133 |
The median student at Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS borrows $3,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $3,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $3,608 |
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $2,341 |
| 75th percentile | $4,774 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 20.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 40 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $3,445 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,090 |
| Independent students | $3,381 |
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.
Important to Remember
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.