by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for New River Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at NRCC, 4% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,901 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,080, representing 92.4% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at NRCC, 7% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $5,054 a year. This works out to 0.5% below the first-year federal average of $5,080.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,108 in two years and roughly $20,216 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,054 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 132 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $667,161 |
The middle borrower at NRCC owes $5,998 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,998 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,000 |
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 NRCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,777 |
| 75th percentile | $9,794 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,970 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at NRCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for NRCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 295 | $16,179 |
| Completed (graduates) | 47 | $13,257 |
| Did not complete | 248 | $17,291 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $157.64/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 NRCC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 51 | $12,510 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 244 | $18,449 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for NRCC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for NRCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 577 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $7,337 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,999 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,417 |
| Independent students | $7,907 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at NRCC.
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.