by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Community College of Philadelphia— 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.
Looking at the entering class at Community College of Philadelphia, 31% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $6,007 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,755. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. 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 Community College of Philadelphia (freshmen included), 32% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,426 a year. This is 11.7% greater than the $5,755 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,852 over two years and about $25,704 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 | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,426 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,625 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $23,294,924 |
The middle borrower at Community College of Philadelphia owes $5,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,226 |
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 Community College of Philadelphia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $9,999 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Community College of Philadelphia.
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 Community College of Philadelphia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1990 | $13,284 |
| Completed (graduates) | 279 | $10,953 |
| Did not complete | 1711 | $13,800 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $130.24/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Community College of Philadelphia.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1962 | $13,337 |
| No Stafford loan | 28 | $12,655 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 957 | $10,623 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1033 | $16,490 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Community College of Philadelphia.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Community College of Philadelphia appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4406 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,448 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $6,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,250 |
| Independent students | $6,979 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Community College of Philadelphia.
Subsidized and 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.
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.