by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Northwest College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Northwest Community College, 15% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $7,334 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,097, equal to roughly 92.7% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Northwest Community College, 12% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $5,771 each per year. It comes to 13.2% greater than the $5,097 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,542 across two years and $23,084 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 | $5,771 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 98 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $565,601 |
The median student at Northwest Community College borrows $6,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Northwest Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,775 |
| 25th percentile | $3,144 |
| 75th percentile | $11,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,835 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Northwest Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Northwest Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 37 | $10,107 |
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Northwest Community College.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 21 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 16 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Northwest Community College.
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 Northwest Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 365 |
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 | $6,779 |
| Middle income | $8,250 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,515 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,954 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Northwest Community College.
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.
Important to Remember
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.