by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Trinity Valley Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at TVCC, 18% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $4,928 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,928, or about 89.6% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at TVCC (freshmen included), 12% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $5,879 annually. This works out to 19.3% more than the $4,928 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $11,758 by year two and around $23,516 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,879 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 650 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,821,177 |
The middle borrower at TVCC owes $6,707 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,707 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,426 |
| 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.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for TVCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,651 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $10,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,034 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at TVCC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at TVCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 257 | $9,693 |
| Completed (graduates) | 76 | $8,420 |
| Did not complete | 181 | $9,990 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $100.12/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at TVCC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 242 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 15 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 80 | $7,394 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 177 | $11,152 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at TVCC.
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 TVCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 819 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,000 |
| Middle income | $6,274 |
| High income | $6,395 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,851 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,341 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,849 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at TVCC.
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.
Did You Know?
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.