by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Brazosport College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at BC, 1% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $4,750 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,750, representing 86.4% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 BC (freshmen included), 2% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $5,859 annually. This works out to 23.3% greater than the $4,750 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $11,718 after two years and $23,436 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,859 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 49 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $287,084 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at BC carry a median federal debt of $4,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $5,641 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,740 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at BC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $5,875 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $11,700 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at BC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for BC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 172 | $11,478 |
| Completed (graduates) | 21 | $11,906 |
| Did not complete | 151 | $11,474 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $141.58/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 | 162 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at BC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for BC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 65 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $4,500 |
| Middle income | $5,375 |
| High income | $3,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $5,488 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at BC.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.