by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Baton Rouge Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At BRCC, 42% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $6,376 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $6,369. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical 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 BRCC, 47% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $7,237 a year. This works out to 13.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $6,369.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,474 across two years and $28,948 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,237 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,789 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $27,420,675 |
The median student at BRCC borrows $7,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,450 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
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 BRCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,898 |
| 25th percentile | $3,008 |
| 75th percentile | $10,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,753 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at BRCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for BRCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 830 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 83 | $8,336 |
| Did not complete | 747 | $10,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $99.12/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at BRCC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 804 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $10,000 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 363 | $8,287 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 467 | $11,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for BRCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for BRCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 25.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 720 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,500 |
| Middle income | $5,750 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,056 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,913 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at BRCC.
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
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.