by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Howard College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Howard County Junior College, 10% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $4,288 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $4,288, representing 78.0% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Howard County Junior College (freshmen included), 23% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $5,912 annually. It comes to 37.9% larger than the freshman federal average of $4,288.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,824 over two years and about $23,648 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 23% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,912 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 360 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,128,359 |
The middle borrower at Howard County Junior College owes $6,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,119 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Howard County Junior College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,078 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Howard County Junior College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Howard County Junior College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 132 | $9,491 |
| Completed (graduates) | 55 | $8,000 |
| Did not complete | 77 | $9,779 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $95.13/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Howard County Junior College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 40 | $8,990 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 92 | $9,491 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Howard County Junior College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Howard County Junior College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 22.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 551 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,125 |
| Middle income | $5,977 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,213 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,127 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Howard County Junior College.
Subsidized vs. 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?
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.