by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Middlesex 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.
Looking at the entering class at Middlesex County College, 6% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $4,894 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,395, or about 79.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at Middlesex County College, 5% take out federal student loans, averaging $5,439 a year. That amounts to 23.8% higher than the first-year federal average of $4,395.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $10,878 over two years and about $21,756 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 5% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,439 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 456 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,480,222 |
The middle borrower at Middlesex County College owes $5,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,250 |
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 Middlesex County College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $10,575 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Middlesex County College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Middlesex County College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 701 | $16,889 |
| Completed (graduates) | 127 | $13,641 |
| Did not complete | 574 | $17,350 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $162.21/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 Middlesex County College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 673 | $17,067 |
| No Stafford loan | 28 | $8,003 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 106 | $16,297 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 595 | $16,916 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Middlesex County College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Middlesex County College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 985 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,500 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Middlesex County College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Important to Remember
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.