by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Tompkins Cortland Community College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Tompkins Cortland, 45% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $5,906 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,410, amounting to 98.4% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Tompkins Cortland, freshmen included, 43% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,314 annually. That amounts to 16.7% more than the freshman federal average of $5,410.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,628 in two years and roughly $25,256 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,314 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 628 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,965,230 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Tompkins Cortland carry a median federal debt of $8,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,981 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Tompkins Cortland.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,560 |
| 75th percentile | $13,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,954 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Tompkins Cortland.
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 Tompkins Cortland.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 346 | $8,950 |
| Completed (graduates) | 23 | $11,621 |
| Did not complete | 323 | $8,900 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $138.19/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 Tompkins Cortland.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 335 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 243 | $7,390 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 103 | $16,850 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Tompkins Cortland.
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 Tompkins Cortland follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 16.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1194 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,750 |
| Middle income | $8,250 |
| High income | $6,671 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,400 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $11,851 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Tompkins Cortland.
The Difference Between 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.
Important to Remember
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.