by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Northampton County Area 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.
Looking at the entering class at Northampton Community College, 41% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $5,918 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,104, which is 92.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Northampton Community College (freshmen included), 33% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,214 annually. This works out to 21.7% above the first-year federal average of $5,104.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,428 by year two and around $24,856 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 33% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,214 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,479 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $15,405,295 |
The middle borrower at Northampton Community College owes $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,495 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Northampton Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,500 |
| 25th percentile | $4,386 |
| 75th percentile | $12,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Northampton Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Northampton Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 992 | $13,494 |
| Completed (graduates) | 193 | $13,614 |
| Did not complete | 799 | $13,488 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $161.88/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Northampton Community College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 953 | $13,615 |
| No Stafford loan | 39 | $10,045 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 584 | $10,499 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 408 | $19,532 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Northampton Community College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Northampton Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1523 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,124 |
| High income | $8,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,404 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,250 |
| Independent students | $11,102 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Northampton Community College.
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.
Important to Remember
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.