by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Mountwest Community and Technical College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at MCTC, 29% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $3,894 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $3,894, which is 70.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at MCTC, 32% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $4,417 a year. It comes to 13.4% higher than the $3,894 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $8,834 by year two and around $17,668 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,417 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 353 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,559,096 |
The middle borrower at MCTC owes $5,136 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,136 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,446 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,400 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for MCTC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,250 |
| 25th percentile | $2,000 |
| 75th percentile | $8,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $12,518 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MCTC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at MCTC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 117 | $8,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 23 | $9,668 |
| Did not complete | 94 | $8,292 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $114.96/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 MCTC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 53 | $7,750 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 64 | $9,151 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for MCTC.
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 MCTC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 27.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 817 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,000 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,234 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,300 |
| Independent students | $4,794 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at MCTC.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.