by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Bellevue College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at BC, 6% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $7,394 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,370, representing 97.6% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at BC (freshmen included), 5% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,952 a year. That is 29.5% more than the $5,370 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,904 across two years and $27,808 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 | 5% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,952 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 325 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,259,450 |
The middle borrower at BC owes $8,282 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,282 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,375 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
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 BC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,902 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $13,453 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,653 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at BC.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at BC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 705 | $17,713 |
| Completed (graduates) | 111 | $17,996 |
| Did not complete | 594 | $17,654 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $213.99/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at BC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 673 | $17,996 |
| No Stafford loan | 32 | $13,584 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 143 | $13,310 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 562 | $19,551 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. BC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for BC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 723 |
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 | $8,625 |
| Middle income | $8,625 |
| High income | $6,969 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,623 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,667 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at BC.
Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.