by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Casper College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Casper College, 16% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $4,221 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,221, or about 76.7% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at Casper College, freshmen included, 20% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,597 annually. This works out to 32.6% above the $4,221 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,194 by year two and around $22,388 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 20% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,597 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 442 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,473,890 |
The median student at Casper College borrows $6,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,534 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 Casper College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,600 |
| 25th percentile | $2,749 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,995 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Casper College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Casper College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 92 | $10,289 |
| Completed (graduates) | 24 | $10,785 |
| Did not complete | 68 | $9,950 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $128.25/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Casper College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 31 | $10,973 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 61 | $9,389 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Casper College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Casper College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 514 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,000 |
| Middle income | $6,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,538 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,911 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,283 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Casper College.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
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.