by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend CUNY Kingsborough Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At KCC specifically, 3% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $4,677 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $4,271, which is 77.7% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at KCC, 6% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $4,816 per year. That is 12.8% above the $4,271 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $9,632 by year two and around $19,264 across a four-year program. 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 | $4,816 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 482 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,321,101 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at KCC carry a median federal debt of $5,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,100 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,300 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for KCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,600 |
| 25th percentile | $2,650 |
| 75th percentile | $9,255 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $15,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at KCC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at KCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 375 | $10,789 |
| Completed (graduates) | 62 | $11,714 |
| Did not complete | 313 | $10,390 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $139.29/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 KCC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 358 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 73 | $11,848 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 302 | $10,447 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. KCC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for KCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 786 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,500 |
| Middle income | $5,253 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,750 |
| Independent students | $7,600 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at KCC.
The Difference Between 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.
Did You Know?
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.