by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City— 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 MCC specifically, 3% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $4,501 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,501, amounting to 81.8% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at MCC, freshmen included, 5% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,360 a year. It comes to 41.3% above the first-year federal average of $4,501.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,720 after two years and $25,440 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 5% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,360 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 532 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,383,619 |
The middle borrower at MCC owes $6,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,073 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 MCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,600 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,640 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for MCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1346 | $11,746 |
| Completed (graduates) | 183 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 1163 | $11,904 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $118.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at MCC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1290 | $11,985 |
| No Stafford loan | 56 | $9,262 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 186 | $8,644 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1160 | $12,388 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. MCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for MCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2315 |
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 | $8,855 |
| Middle income | $6,313 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,625 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,373 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,001 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for MCC.
Subsidized vs. 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?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.