by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Tidewater Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Tidewater Community College, 11% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $4,732 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,732, equal to roughly 86.0% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at Tidewater Community College, 11% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $5,122 per year. This is 8.2% greater than the freshman federal average of $4,732.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,244 by year two and around $20,488 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,122 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,333 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,827,848 |
The middle borrower at Tidewater Community College owes $5,810 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,810 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Tidewater Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $11,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,985 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Tidewater Community College.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Tidewater Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1585 | $12,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 354 | $10,832 |
| Did not complete | 1231 | $12,480 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $128.8/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Tidewater Community College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1522 | $12,163 |
| No Stafford loan | 63 | $8,986 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 526 | $10,155 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1059 | $13,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Tidewater 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 Tidewater Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3985 |
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 | $6,800 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,060 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,700 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Tidewater Community College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Important to Remember
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.