by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Community College of Allegheny County, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At CCAC specifically, 14% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $5,381 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,143, amounting to 93.5% 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.
For undergraduates overall at CCAC, 12% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $5,656 annually. It comes to 10.0% more than the freshman federal average of $5,143.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,312 in two years and roughly $22,624 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,656 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,140 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,447,698 |
The middle borrower at CCAC owes $7,132 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,132 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,680 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at CCAC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,464 |
| 25th percentile | $2,700 |
| 75th percentile | $10,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,544 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CCAC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for CCAC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2491 | $15,471 |
| Completed (graduates) | 422 | $13,034 |
| Did not complete | 2069 | $16,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $154.99/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 CCAC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2442 | $15,513 |
| No Stafford loan | 49 | $11,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 615 | $10,544 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1876 | $17,479 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CCAC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for CCAC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3006 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,400 |
| Middle income | $6,265 |
| High income | $6,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,416 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,300 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CCAC.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.