by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Flathead Valley Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Flathead Valley Community College specifically, 16% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $5,682 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,093, amounting to 92.6% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at Flathead Valley Community College, freshmen included, 19% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $5,783 per year. This is 13.5% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,093.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,566 by year two and around $23,132 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 19% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,783 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 220 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,272,212 |
The median student at Flathead Valley Community College borrows $6,719 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,719 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Flathead Valley Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $12,814 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,972 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Flathead Valley Community 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 Flathead Valley Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 98 | $11,636 |
| Completed (graduates) | 29 | $15,067 |
| Did not complete | 69 | $10,732 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $179.16/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Flathead Valley Community College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 32 | $10,330 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 66 | $13,418 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Flathead Valley Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Flathead Valley Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 504 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $8,055 |
| Middle income | $5,805 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,079 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,543 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Flathead Valley Community College.
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.
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.