by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Otero College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Otero JC, 26% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $5,326 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,077, representing 92.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 Otero JC, 25% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,380 annually. That is 25.7% more than the first-year federal average of $5,077.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,760 by year two and around $25,520 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 | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,380 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 164 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,046,271 |
The median student at Otero JC borrows $6,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,250 |
| 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 Otero JC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,496 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,496 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Otero JC.
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 Otero JC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 64 | $6,610 |
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Otero JC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 37 | $5,100 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 27 | $8,697 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Otero JC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Otero JC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 23.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 416 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,250 |
| Middle income | $5,600 |
| High income | $5,950 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,125 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,688 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Otero JC.
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.
Important to Remember
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.