by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for South Mountain Community College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at South Mountain Community College, 8% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $4,714 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $3,579, equal to roughly 65.1% 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 South Mountain Community College (freshmen included), 13% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $4,475 each per year. It comes to 25.0% larger than the $3,579 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $8,950 in two years and roughly $17,900 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 | 13% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,475 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 351 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,570,638 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at South Mountain Community College carry a median federal debt of $4,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 South Mountain Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,588 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at South Mountain Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at South Mountain Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 176 | $10,239 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at South Mountain Community College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 33 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 143 | $10,500 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at South Mountain Community College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for South Mountain Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 19.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 277 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,847 |
| Middle income | $4,500 |
| High income | $3,839 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $5,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for South Mountain Community College.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.