by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Fox Valley Technical College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At FVTC, 25% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $5,045 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,584, amounting to 83.3% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at FVTC, 19% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $4,338 a year. It comes to 5.4% lower than the $4,584 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $8,676 across two years and $17,352 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 19% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,338 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,165 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,054,272 |
The middle borrower at FVTC owes $5,834 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,834 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,402 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for FVTC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,752 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $11,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at FVTC.
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 FVTC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 410 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 135 | $11,000 |
| Did not complete | 275 | $9,936 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $130.8/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at FVTC.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 181 | $9,112 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 229 | $11,189 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. FVTC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for FVTC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1841 |
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 | $6,250 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $6,611 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at FVTC.
Subsidized vs. 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
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.