by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Montgomery 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.
At Montgomery College specifically, 7% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $4,894 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,894, amounting to 89.0% 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Montgomery College, 7% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $5,775 annually. This works out to 18.0% above the freshman federal average of $4,894.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,550 after two years and $23,100 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,775 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 925 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,341,985 |
The middle borrower at Montgomery College owes $7,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,415 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,945 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Montgomery College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $12,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,720 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Montgomery College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Montgomery College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1295 | $15,754 |
| Completed (graduates) | 100 | $15,176 |
| Did not complete | 1195 | $15,767 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $180.46/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 Montgomery College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1226 | $15,884 |
| No Stafford loan | 69 | $12,500 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 310 | $13,815 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 985 | $16,454 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Montgomery College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Montgomery College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1351 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,447 |
| Middle income | $7,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,436 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Montgomery 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
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.