by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Bergen Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Bergen Community College, 24% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $4,642 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,615, amounting to 83.9% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at Bergen Community College (freshmen included), 21% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $5,522 per year. This works out to 19.7% more than the first-year federal average of $4,615.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,044 after two years and $22,088 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,522 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,184 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,059,141 |
The median student at Bergen Community College borrows $8,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,125 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Bergen Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,014 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $12,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Bergen Community College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Bergen Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1005 | $15,076 |
| Completed (graduates) | 269 | $13,285 |
| Did not complete | 736 | $16,143 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $157.97/mo.
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 Bergen Community College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 983 | $15,100 |
| No Stafford loan | 22 | $9,990 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 398 | $11,900 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 607 | $18,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Bergen Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Bergen Community College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 975 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,250 |
| Middle income | $8,103 |
| High income | $8,250 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Bergen Community College.
The Difference Between 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?
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.