by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Montgomery County Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Montco specifically, 29% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $4,886 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,773, or about 86.8% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Montco, freshmen included, 28% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $5,878 each per year. This works out to 23.2% greater than the first-year federal average of $4,773.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $11,756 in two years and roughly $23,512 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 28% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,878 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,001 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,762,573 |
The middle borrower at Montco owes $7,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,349 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Montco.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,883 |
| 25th percentile | $3,067 |
| 75th percentile | $11,461 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,285 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Montco.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Montco.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1292 | $18,041 |
| Completed (graduates) | 230 | $13,961 |
| Did not complete | 1062 | $18,879 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $166.01/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Montco.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1256 | $18,106 |
| No Stafford loan | 36 | $10,538 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 465 | $11,754 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 827 | $21,544 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Montco.
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 Montco appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1960 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,250 |
| Middle income | $6,428 |
| High income | $7,074 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,748 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,821 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Montco.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.