by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At MECR specifically, 25% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $4,700 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,700, representing 85.5% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at MECR (freshmen included), 25% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $4,701 a year. That is 0.0% above the first-year federal average of $4,700.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $9,402 over two years and about $18,804 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,701 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,401 |
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for MECR.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. MECR.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for MECR follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 17 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Worth Knowing
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.