by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Richland 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.
Looking at the entering class at Richland Community College, 12% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $3,460 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $3,460, representing 62.9% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Richland Community College, 11% take out federal student loans, averaging $4,031 in federal loans per year. It comes to 16.5% above the $3,460 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $8,062 after two years and $16,124 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,031 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 149 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $600,565 |
The middle borrower at Richland Community College owes $4,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,256 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Richland Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,000 |
| 25th percentile | $1,814 |
| 75th percentile | $6,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $12,455 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Richland Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Richland Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 145 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 34 | $7,504 |
| Did not complete | 111 | $10,500 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $89.23/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Richland Community College.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 35 | $7,323 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 110 | $10,539 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Richland Community College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Richland Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 311 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,351 |
| Middle income | $4,300 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,000 |
| Independent students | $5,632 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Richland Community College.
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.
Did You Know?
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.