by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Red Rocks Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Red Rocks Community College, 13% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $3,629 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $3,360, which is 61.1% 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.
For undergraduates overall at Red Rocks Community College, 16% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $3,837 each per year. This works out to 14.2% greater than the $3,360 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $7,674 after two years and $15,348 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 | 16% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,837 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 665 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,551,445 |
The median student at Red Rocks Community College borrows $4,900 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,900 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,369 |
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 Red Rocks Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,700 |
| 75th percentile | $10,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Red Rocks Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Red Rocks Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 873 | $17,352 |
| Completed (graduates) | 128 | $15,712 |
| Did not complete | 745 | $17,895 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $186.83/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Red Rocks Community College.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 846 | $17,426 |
| No Stafford loan | 27 | $15,600 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 230 | $11,784 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 643 | $20,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Red Rocks Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Red Rocks Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1405 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,250 |
| Middle income | $4,750 |
| High income | $4,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,838 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,500 |
| Independent students | $5,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Red Rocks Community College.
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.
Important to Remember
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.