by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Northwest Iowa Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Northwest Iowa Community College, 29% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $5,374 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,328, or about 78.7% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Northwest Iowa Community College, 28% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,347 a year. That is 23.5% higher than the $4,328 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $10,694 by year two and around $21,388 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 28% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,347 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 232 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,240,518 |
The middle borrower at Northwest Iowa Community College owes $7,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 Northwest Iowa Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,502 |
| 75th percentile | $11,918 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,862 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Northwest Iowa Community College.
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 Northwest Iowa Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 132 | $10,990 |
| Completed (graduates) | 39 | $11,000 |
| Did not complete | 93 | $10,980 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $130.8/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Northwest Iowa Community College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 41 | $7,159 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 91 | $12,147 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Northwest Iowa 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 Northwest Iowa Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.5% |
| 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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,563 |
| Middle income | $6,995 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,831 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,666 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Northwest Iowa Community College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Worth Knowing
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.