by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for El Camino Community College District: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at El Camino College, 0% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $6,125 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,125. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the 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.
Counting every undergraduate at El Camino College, 1% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $7,442 in federal loans per year. That is 21.5% more than the $6,125 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,884 after two years and $29,768 after four. 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 | $7,442 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 96 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $714,393 |
The median student at El Camino College borrows $4,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,750 |
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for El Camino College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,250 |
| 25th percentile | $2,210 |
| 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 El Camino 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 El Camino College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1109 | $14,282 |
| Completed (graduates) | 37 | $13,612 |
| Did not complete | 1072 | $14,310 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $161.86/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 El Camino College.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1056 | $14,139 |
| No Stafford loan | 53 | $15,193 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1097 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at El Camino College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for El Camino College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 402 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,750 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,298 |
| Independent students | $5,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at El Camino College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Did You Know?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.