by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Wytheville Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at WCC, 2% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $4,654 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,430, representing 80.5% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a 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 WCC, 5% take out federal student loans, for a typical $6,080 a year. That is 37.2% greater than the $4,430 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,160 across two years and $24,320 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 | 5% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,080 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 56 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $340,455 |
The median student at WCC borrows $6,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for WCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,632 |
| 25th percentile | $3,000 |
| 75th percentile | $10,039 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $15,530 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at WCC.
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 WCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 85 | $10,280 |
| Completed (graduates) | 39 | $9,750 |
| Did not complete | 46 | $12,105 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $115.94/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at WCC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 75 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at WCC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for WCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 46 |
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 | $6,500 |
| Middle income | $5,973 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,798 |
| Independent students | $9,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at WCC.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.