by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Montcalm Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Montcalm Community College, 15% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $5,283 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,283, amounting to 96.1% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 Montcalm Community College, freshmen included, 18% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $5,685 per year. That is 7.6% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,283.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,370 across two years and $22,740 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 | 18% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,685 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 189 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,074,428 |
The middle borrower at Montcalm Community College owes $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $16,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,477 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Montcalm Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $13,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Montcalm Community College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Montcalm Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 58 | $8,799 |
| Completed (graduates) | 26 | $7,758 |
| Did not complete | 32 | $9,672 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $92.25/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Montcalm Community College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 29 | $9,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 29 | $8,316 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Montcalm Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Montcalm Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 486 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,000 |
| Middle income | $9,375 |
| High income | $7,377 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,491 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,335 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,224 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Montcalm Community 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.
Did You Know?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.