by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Oklahoma City Community College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At OCCC, 13% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $4,072 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $4,027, representing 73.2% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at OCCC, 12% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $4,470 annually. That is 11.0% larger than the $4,027 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $8,940 after two years and $17,880 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,470 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,158 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,176,651 |
The middle borrower at OCCC owes $5,668 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,668 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,388 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,250 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for OCCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,476 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $9,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,112 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at OCCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for OCCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 825 | $14,760 |
| Completed (graduates) | 144 | $11,254 |
| Did not complete | 681 | $15,086 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $133.82/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at OCCC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 783 | $14,605 |
| No Stafford loan | 42 | $18,668 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 141 | $10,370 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 684 | $15,345 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for OCCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for OCCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2456 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,740 |
| Middle income | $5,740 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,574 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,144 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,052 |
| Independent students | $7,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at OCCC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.