by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Coalinga College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At West Hills College-Coalinga specifically, 4% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $5,156 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,156, which is 93.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at West Hills College-Coalinga, freshmen included, 2% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $4,945 annually. This is 4.1% below the $5,156 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $9,890 in two years and roughly $19,780 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 2% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,945 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 36 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $178,016 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at West Hills College-Coalinga carry a median federal debt of $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,750 |
| 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 West Hills College-Coalinga.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,000 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at West Hills College-Coalinga.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at West Hills College-Coalinga.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 147 | $7,170 |
| Completed (graduates) | 29 | $6,000 |
| Did not complete | 118 | $7,744 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $71.35/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at West Hills College-Coalinga.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 24 | $6,398 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 123 | $7,376 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at West Hills College-Coalinga.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for West Hills College-Coalinga is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 194 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $6,625 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,500 |
| Independent students | $8,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for West Hills College-Coalinga.
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.
Worth Knowing
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.