by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Merced College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Merced Community College District specifically, 1% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $6,344 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $6,344. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at Merced Community College District (freshmen included), 1% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,620 per year. It comes to 4.4% greater than the first-year federal average of $6,344.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,240 in two years and roughly $26,480 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,620 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 96 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $635,545 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Merced Community College District carry a median federal debt of $4,188 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,188 |
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 Merced Community College District.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 438 | $10,063 |
| Completed (graduates) | 59 | $9,788 |
| Did not complete | 379 | $10,314 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $116.39/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 Merced Community College District.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 421 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Merced Community College District.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Merced Community College District follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 0 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,150 |
| Independent students | $4,750 |
The Difference Between 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.
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.