by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Northwest Mississippi 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.
Among first-year students at NWCC, 15% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $3,899 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $3,899, which is 70.9% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at NWCC (freshmen included), 18% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,399 each per year. That amounts to 38.5% larger than the first-year federal average of $3,899.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,798 in two years and roughly $21,596 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 18% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,399 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 914 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,934,840 |
The middle borrower at NWCC owes $5,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,740 |
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 NWCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,300 |
| 25th percentile | $2,105 |
| 75th percentile | $8,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $15,250 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at NWCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for NWCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 378 | $12,041 |
| Completed (graduates) | 87 | $9,256 |
| Did not complete | 291 | $12,981 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $110.06/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 NWCC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 367 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 119 | $9,258 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 259 | $13,136 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. NWCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for NWCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1534 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,090 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,000 |
| Independent students | $9,250 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at NWCC.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.