by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Cape Fear Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At CFCC specifically, 1% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $6,314 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,393, representing 98.1% 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 CFCC (freshmen included), 6% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,033 per year. That is 11.9% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,393.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,066 across two years and $24,132 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 6% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,033 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 601 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,625,583 |
The middle borrower at CFCC owes $6,334 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,334 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 CFCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,250 |
| 75th percentile | $12,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,899 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at CFCC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CFCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 556 | $11,837 |
| Completed (graduates) | 87 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 469 | $12,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $118.91/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 CFCC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 521 | $11,954 |
| No Stafford loan | 35 | $9,000 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 166 | $10,856 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 390 | $12,327 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for CFCC.
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 CFCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 960 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,700 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at CFCC.
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.
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.