by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Community College of Vermont, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at CCV, 6% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $4,981 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $4,981, or about 90.6% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at CCV, 6% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $5,765 a year. This is 15.7% greater than the $4,981 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,530 after two years and $23,060 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 6% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,765 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 196 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,129,937 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CCV carry a median federal debt of $5,702 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,702 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,491 |
| 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.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at CCV.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,000 |
| 25th percentile | $2,000 |
| 75th percentile | $9,700 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CCV.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CCV.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 650 | $15,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 70 | $14,067 |
| Did not complete | 580 | $15,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $167.27/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at CCV.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 148 | $11,221 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 502 | $16,961 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for CCV.
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 CCV is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1384 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,500 |
| Middle income | $5,433 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,405 |
| Independent students | $6,646 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CCV.
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.
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.