by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Rio Hondo College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at RHCCD, 0% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $4,578 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $4,578, which is 83.2% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical 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 RHCCD (freshmen included), 1% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,308 each per year. That amounts to 37.8% above the $4,578 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,616 after two years and $25,232 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 | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,308 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 95 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $599,228 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at RHCCD carry a median federal debt of $4,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $5,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at RHCCD.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,625 |
| 75th percentile | $7,875 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at RHCCD.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at RHCCD.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 708 | $14,210 |
| Completed (graduates) | 45 | $14,650 |
| Did not complete | 663 | $14,143 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $174.2/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at RHCCD.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 679 | $14,205 |
| No Stafford loan | 29 | $14,816 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. RHCCD.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for RHCCD follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 258 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $4,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $4,976 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for RHCCD.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.