by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Northern Essex Community 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 NECC, 12% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $3,946 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $3,950, equal to roughly 71.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at NECC, freshmen included, 13% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $4,122 annually. This works out to 4.4% larger than the $3,950 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $8,244 after two years and $16,488 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 13% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,122 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 436 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,797,056 |
The median student at NECC borrows $5,661 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,661 |
| 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.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for NECC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,550 |
| 25th percentile | $2,700 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at NECC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for NECC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 346 | $12,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 55 | $11,322 |
| Did not complete | 291 | $12,806 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $134.63/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at NECC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 133 | $12,429 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 213 | $12,780 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. NECC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for NECC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 780 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $6,040 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $6,929 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at NECC.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.