by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Colby Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Colby Community College, 23% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $4,877 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,877, amounting to 88.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Colby Community College, 29% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $5,609 each per year. It comes to 15.0% higher than the freshman federal average of $4,877.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,218 by year two and around $22,436 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 29% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,609 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 246 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,379,713 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Colby Community College carry a median federal debt of $6,206 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,206 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,908 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Colby Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,125 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $15,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Colby Community College.
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 Colby Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 114 | $8,120 |
| Completed (graduates) | 23 | $10,230 |
| Did not complete | 91 | $8,063 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $121.65/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Colby Community College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 66 | $6,119 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 48 | $10,002 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Colby Community College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Colby Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 300 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,723 |
| Middle income | $6,125 |
| High income | $6,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,166 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,233 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,650 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Colby Community College.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.