by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Rock Valley College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Rock Valley College, 5% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $4,497 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,525, amounting to 82.3% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. 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 Rock Valley College, 4% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $5,457 annually. That amounts to 20.6% larger than the $4,525 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,914 over two years and about $21,828 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 4% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,457 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 192 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,047,827 |
The median student at Rock Valley College borrows $5,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Rock Valley College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,089 |
| 25th percentile | $1,765 |
| 75th percentile | $6,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $11,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Rock Valley College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Rock Valley College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 359 | $12,805 |
| Completed (graduates) | 77 | $12,525 |
| Did not complete | 282 | $12,852 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $148.94/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Rock Valley College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 48 | $10,180 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 311 | $13,205 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Rock Valley 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 official Department of Education two-year default rate for Rock Valley College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 473 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,180 |
| Middle income | $5,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,460 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,000 |
| Independent students | $7,406 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Rock Valley 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.
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.