by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Long Beach City 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.
At Long Beach City College, 1% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $7,249 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $7,249. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Long Beach City College, 2% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $7,387 per year. That is 1.9% above the first-year federal average of $7,249.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,774 by year two and around $29,548 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,387 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 509 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,760,228 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Long Beach City College carry a median federal debt of $7,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Long Beach City College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,400 |
| 75th percentile | $9,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,126 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Long Beach City College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Long Beach City College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1389 | $13,902 |
| Completed (graduates) | 51 | $13,450 |
| Did not complete | 1338 | $13,968 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $159.93/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Long Beach City College.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1340 | $13,987 |
| No Stafford loan | 49 | $11,432 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 51 | $11,045 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1338 | $13,999 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Long Beach City 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 Long Beach City College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 20.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 759 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,000 |
| Middle income | $5,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,672 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,000 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Long Beach City College.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.