by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend East Los Angeles College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At East Los Angeles College specifically, 1% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $6,285 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $6,285. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at East Los Angeles College, 1% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,513 a year. This is 3.6% more than the freshman federal average of $6,285.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,026 over two years and about $26,052 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,513 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 160 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,042,099 |
The middle borrower at East Los Angeles College owes $6,999 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,999 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 East Los Angeles College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,974 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,382 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at East Los Angeles College.
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 East Los Angeles College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 998 | $10,173 |
| Completed (graduates) | 75 | $11,577 |
| Did not complete | 923 | $10,090 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $137.66/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at East Los Angeles College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 975 | $10,198 |
| No Stafford loan | 23 | $10,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 28 | $5,191 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 970 | $10,435 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at East Los Angeles College.
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 East Los Angeles College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 181 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,490 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,024 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at East Los Angeles College.
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
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.