by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Southwestern Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Southwestern Community College, 7% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $3,492 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $3,492, which is 63.5% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Southwestern Community College, 9% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,129 annually. This is 75.5% higher than the $3,492 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,258 by year two and around $24,516 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 9% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,129 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 113 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $692,563 |
The median student at Southwestern Community College borrows $7,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 Southwestern Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $14,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,954 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Southwestern Community College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Southwestern Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 103 | $12,134 |
| Completed (graduates) | 32 | $11,000 |
| Did not complete | 71 | $12,568 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $130.8/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 Southwestern Community College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 19 | $5,355 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 84 | $12,979 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Southwestern 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 Southwestern Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 141 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $4,111 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,757 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,731 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,600 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Southwestern Community College.
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
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.