by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Hudson County 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.
At HCCC specifically, 2% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $6,041 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,527. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at HCCC, freshmen included, 3% take out federal student loans, averaging $5,253 annually. That is 5.0% below the freshman federal average of $5,527.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,506 after two years and $21,012 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 | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,253 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 212 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,113,561 |
The middle borrower at HCCC owes $6,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for HCCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,700 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $10,050 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,750 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at HCCC.
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 HCCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 494 | $9,241 |
| Completed (graduates) | 109 | $9,400 |
| Did not complete | 385 | $9,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $111.78/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 HCCC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 481 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 97 | $6,400 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 397 | $10,084 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. HCCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for HCCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 615 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,000 |
| Middle income | $6,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,775 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,567 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,000 |
| Independent students | $8,930 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at HCCC.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
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.