by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Truckee Meadows 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.
Looking at the entering class at Truckee Meadows Community College, 3% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $4,765 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,605, representing 83.7% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Truckee Meadows Community College, 4% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,397 in federal loans per year. It comes to 38.9% more than the $4,605 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,794 after two years and $25,588 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 4% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,397 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 259 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,656,836 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Truckee Meadows Community College carry a median federal debt of $6,999 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,999 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,000 |
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 Truckee Meadows Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Truckee Meadows Community College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Truckee Meadows Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 514 | $16,519 |
| Completed (graduates) | 79 | $14,370 |
| Did not complete | 435 | $16,782 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $170.87/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Truckee Meadows Community College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 488 | $16,591 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $14,685 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 52 | $13,941 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 462 | $16,791 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Truckee Meadows Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Truckee Meadows Community College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1169 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,819 |
| Middle income | $6,684 |
| High income | $5,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,000 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Truckee Meadows 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.