by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend West Los Angeles 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.
Among first-year students at West LA College, 3% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $7,220 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,951. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at West LA College, 3% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,776 a year. It comes to 30.7% larger than the $5,951 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,552 by year two and around $31,104 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 | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,776 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 189 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,469,736 |
The middle borrower at West LA College owes $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at West LA College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,025 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,704 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at West LA 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 West LA College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 821 | $15,600 |
| Completed (graduates) | 43 | $13,184 |
| Did not complete | 778 | $15,680 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $156.77/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 West LA College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 796 | $15,489 |
| No Stafford loan | 25 | $22,768 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 806 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. West LA College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for West LA College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 256 |
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 | $9,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at West LA College.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
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.