by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will not be asked to pay the advertised price of a school. Instead, they will be provided a financial aid package that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The total cost of going to Otero College can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
What financial aid options can Otero JC offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Scroll down to discover how much school funding could be available to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Otero College.
Financial aid, in the form of loans, grants, work-study, and scholarships, is one way colleges reduce the cost of attendance so most students can actually afford to attend. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Otero College, 95% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid approximately 205 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 92% | $10,305 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 66% | $8,140 |
| Federal Pell grants | 50% | $6,316 |
| State/local grants | 46% | $1,989 |
| Federal student loans | 23% | $5,077 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Across the undergraduate body at Otero JC, roughly 63% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $8,247 (for some 614 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 63% | $8,247 |
| Federal Pell grants | 38% | $6,078 |
| Federal student loans | 17% | $6,380 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $9,917.
Since aid is largely need-based, the real cost of attendance falls steeply for lower-income families.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $9,672 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $10,057 |
| Over $75,000 | $15,463 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $11,103 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $11,329 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Otero JC’s net price calculator: www.otero.edu/pay-for-college/tuition-fees/.
A typical borrower at Otero JC leaves with $6,000 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $6,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $10,250 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $108.67/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The figures below chart the debt distribution at 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 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,250 |
| Middle income | $5,600 |
| High income | $5,950 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,125 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,688 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. Otero JC.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Otero JC:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 4242 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $44,903,535 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 10 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $62,296 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $6,230 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.