by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Tacoma Community College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Tacoma Community College, 12% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $5,815 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,815. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at Tacoma Community College, 16% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,529 each per year. This is 12.3% above the $5,815 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,058 in two years and roughly $26,116 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 16% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,529 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 695 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,537,512 |
The middle borrower at Tacoma Community College owes $7,718 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,718 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,013 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Tacoma Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,077 |
| 25th percentile | $3,650 |
| 75th percentile | $15,144 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $23,118 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Tacoma Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Tacoma Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 424 | $13,984 |
| Completed (graduates) | 96 | $12,967 |
| Did not complete | 328 | $14,907 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $154.19/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 Tacoma Community College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 408 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 122 | $11,043 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 302 | $15,199 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Tacoma Community College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Tacoma Community College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1146 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,236 |
| Middle income | $7,585 |
| High income | $5,958 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,878 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,337 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Tacoma Community 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.
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.