by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend North Arkansas 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.
At Northark, 7% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $4,132 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $4,132, representing 75.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at Northark (freshmen included), 12% take out federal student loans, averaging $5,605 a year. It comes to 35.6% more than the $4,132 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,210 over two years and about $22,420 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 | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,605 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 146 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $818,337 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Northark carry a median federal debt of $5,928 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,928 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,250 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Northark.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,250 |
| 75th percentile | $11,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Northark.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Northark.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 36 | $7,331 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Northark.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Northark appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 463 |
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 | $7,725 |
| Middle income | $5,734 |
| High income | $4,511 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,070 |
| Independent students | $8,938 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Northark.
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.