by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend North Idaho College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at NIC, 21% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $4,150 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,150, or about 75.5% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at NIC, freshmen included, 25% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $4,539 a year. This is 9.4% larger than the $4,150 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $9,078 in two years and roughly $18,156 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,539 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 618 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,805,131 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at NIC carry a median federal debt of $5,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,659 |
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 NIC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,905 |
| 75th percentile | $11,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at NIC.
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 NIC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 173 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 45 | $12,832 |
| Did not complete | 128 | $9,358 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $152.59/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 NIC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 95 | $10,179 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 78 | $10,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. NIC.
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 NIC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1442 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,903 |
| Middle income | $5,119 |
| High income | $5,288 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,333 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,538 |
| Independent students | $6,506 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at NIC.
The Difference Between 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.
Did You Know?
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.