by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend MiraCosta College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at MiraCosta College, 2% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $7,380 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $7,380. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at MiraCosta College, 3% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $7,088 in federal loans per year. This is 4.0% lower than the freshman federal average of $7,380.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,176 in two years and roughly $28,352 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,088 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 271 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,920,914 |
The middle borrower at MiraCosta College owes $9,488 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,488 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at MiraCosta College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,984 |
| 25th percentile | $3,473 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,618 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MiraCosta College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at MiraCosta College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 908 | $17,160 |
| Completed (graduates) | 20 | $22,777 |
| Did not complete | 888 | $17,050 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $270.84/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 MiraCosta College.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 864 | $16,998 |
| No Stafford loan | 44 | $20,000 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 36 | $11,827 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 872 | $17,749 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at MiraCosta College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for MiraCosta College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 135 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $4,359 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,935 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at MiraCosta 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.
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.