by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Somerset 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 SCC specifically, 22% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $4,408 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,408, amounting to 80.1% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. 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 SCC (freshmen included), 30% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $5,479 per year. This works out to 24.3% larger than the $4,408 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,958 over two years and about $21,916 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 30% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,479 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,177 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,448,456 |
The middle borrower at SCC owes $8,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,215 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 SCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,919 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,100 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at SCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 206 | $7,591 |
| Completed (graduates) | 58 | $6,950 |
| Did not complete | 148 | $8,232 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $82.64/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 SCC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 75 | $6,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 131 | $9,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for SCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 24.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1974 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,896 |
| Middle income | $6,984 |
| High income | $5,825 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,383 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,346 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,600 |
| Independent students | $10,379 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SCC.
The Difference Between 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.