by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Whatcom 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.
At Whatcom Community College specifically, 11% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $6,515 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,463, or about 81.1% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at Whatcom Community College (freshmen included), 8% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $5,664 each per year. This is 26.9% above the freshman federal average of $4,463.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,328 by year two and around $22,656 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 8% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,664 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 186 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,053,588 |
The median student at Whatcom Community College borrows $8,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,643 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Whatcom Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,375 |
| 75th percentile | $12,368 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Whatcom Community College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Whatcom Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 276 | $14,391 |
| Completed (graduates) | 59 | $12,952 |
| Did not complete | 217 | $15,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $154.01/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Whatcom Community College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 265 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 71 | $12,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 205 | $15,078 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Whatcom Community College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Whatcom Community College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 397 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $6,223 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,125 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Whatcom Community College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
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.