by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Hagerstown Community 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.
For incoming students at HCC, 21% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $4,517 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,517, or about 82.1% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at HCC, 27% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $4,841 in federal loans per year. This is 7.2% larger than the $4,517 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $9,682 after two years and $19,364 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 27% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,841 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 750 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,630,799 |
The middle borrower at HCC owes $6,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| 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Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 HCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,820 |
| 25th percentile | $2,955 |
| 75th percentile | $12,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,718 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at HCC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at HCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 271 | $13,782 |
| Completed (graduates) | 83 | $13,413 |
| Did not complete | 188 | $14,119 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $159.49/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at HCC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 108 | $10,144 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 163 | $15,005 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for HCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for HCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 675 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,922 |
| Middle income | $6,700 |
| High income | $6,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,696 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,294 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for HCC.
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.
Did You Know?
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.