by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At A-B Tech specifically, 4% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $5,050 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $4,909, equal to roughly 89.3% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at A-B Tech (freshmen included), 4% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $10,491 annually. That is 113.7% higher than the $4,909 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $20,982 over two years and about $41,964 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 4% |
| Average federal loan per year | $10,491 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 189 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,982,750 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at A-B Tech carry a median federal debt of $10,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,528 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,398 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for A-B Tech.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,500 |
| 25th percentile | $4,500 |
| 75th percentile | $18,285 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,127 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at A-B Tech.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at A-B Tech.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 382 | $11,349 |
| Completed (graduates) | 99 | $11,400 |
| Did not complete | 283 | $11,312 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $135.56/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at A-B Tech.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 366 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 76 | $12,154 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 306 | $11,175 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at A-B Tech.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for A-B Tech follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 423 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,970 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $5,519 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,306 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $12,376 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for A-B Tech.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.