by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Passaic County Community 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.
At PCCC, 9% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $5,015 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,015, representing 91.2% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at PCCC (freshmen included), 12% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $5,138 annually. That amounts to 2.5% higher than the $5,015 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,276 in two years and roughly $20,552 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 | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,138 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 545 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,800,472 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at PCCC carry a median federal debt of $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,536 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for PCCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $7,644 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,768 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at PCCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for PCCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 408 | $8,282 |
| Completed (graduates) | 57 | $7,997 |
| Did not complete | 351 | $8,389 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $95.09/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at PCCC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 398 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 81 | $8,805 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 327 | $8,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for PCCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for PCCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 239 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,500 |
| Middle income | $5,418 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,527 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at PCCC.
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?
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.