by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Rio Grande Valley College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at RGV Careers, 53% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $4,493 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $4,493, or about 81.7% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at RGV Careers, 77% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $11,567 annually. This works out to 157.4% above the freshman federal average of $4,493.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $23,134 across two years and $46,268 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 | 77% |
| Average federal loan per year | $11,567 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 956 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,058,392 |
The middle borrower at RGV Careers owes $10,473 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,473 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,359 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,575 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at RGV Careers.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,906 |
| 25th percentile | $7,811 |
| 75th percentile | $15,101 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,069 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at RGV Careers.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at RGV Careers.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 111 | $4,083 |
| Completed (graduates) | 75 | $4,398 |
| Did not complete | 36 | $2,166 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $52.3/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. RGV Careers.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,453 |
| Middle income | $12,323 |
| High income | $11,747 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,083 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,357 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,589 |
| Independent students | $12,357 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for RGV Careers.
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.
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.