by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for River Parishes 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 River Parishes Community College, 32% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $5,719 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,719. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at River Parishes Community College, 37% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,737 in federal loans per year. This works out to 17.8% greater than the $5,719 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,474 after two years and $26,948 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,737 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 677 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,560,811 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at River Parishes Community College carry a median federal debt of $7,329 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,329 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,863 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 River Parishes Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,024 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $11,637 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $23,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at River Parishes Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at River Parishes Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 170 | $7,912 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at River Parishes Community College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 81 | $7,824 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 89 | $8,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. River Parishes 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. Two-year cohort default-rate data for River Parishes Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 750 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,250 |
| Middle income | $5,517 |
| High income | $5,770 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,501 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at River Parishes Community College.
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.
Worth Knowing
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.