by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Diablo Valley College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Diablo Valley, 0% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $6,081 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,081. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at Diablo Valley, 1% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $8,061 a year. This is 32.6% greater than the freshman federal average of $6,081.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $16,122 across two years and $32,244 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,061 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 162 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,305,837 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Diablo Valley carry a median federal debt of $6,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,021 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Diablo Valley.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,625 |
| 75th percentile | $6,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Diablo Valley.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Diablo Valley.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1242 | $18,885 |
| Completed (graduates) | 149 | $18,910 |
| Did not complete | 1093 | $18,871 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $224.86/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Diablo Valley.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1159 | $18,803 |
| No Stafford loan | 83 | $21,648 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 28 | $8,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1214 | $19,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Diablo Valley.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Diablo Valley is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 122 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,434 |
| Middle income | $6,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,334 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,450 |
| Independent students | $7,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Diablo Valley.
The Difference Between 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.