by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Bellingham Technical 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 Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute, 8% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $7,386 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $6,131. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. 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 Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute, 10% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,397 annually. This works out to 4.3% more than the freshman federal average of $6,131.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,794 after two years and $25,588 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 10% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,397 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 146 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $933,926 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,459 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,555 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,334 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $18,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,167 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute.
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 Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 123 | $13,600 |
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 Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 38 | $11,790 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 85 | $14,540 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 616 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,817 |
| Middle income | $8,538 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,834 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $11,736 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute.
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.
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.