by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Collins Career Technical Center— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At CollinsCTC, 47% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $7,547 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,547. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at CollinsCTC (freshmen included), 66% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,689 per year. This is 11.4% below the $7,547 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,378 across two years and $26,756 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 | 66% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,689 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 417 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,789,307 |
The median student at CollinsCTC borrows $9,711 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,711 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,887 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at CollinsCTC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,485 |
| 25th percentile | $4,750 |
| 75th percentile | $14,166 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,853 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at CollinsCTC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for CollinsCTC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 31 | $6,966 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CollinsCTC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for CollinsCTC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 216 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,223 |
| Middle income | $9,631 |
| High income | $8,216 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,625 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,926 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,703 |
| Independent students | $13,331 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CollinsCTC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.