by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park, 87% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $8,150 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $8,150. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park, 85% take out federal student loans, for a typical $7,479 each per year. This works out to 8.2% smaller than the $8,150 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,958 after two years and $29,916 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 85% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,479 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,805 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $13,498,805 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,504 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park.
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 Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1412 | $10,396 |
| Completed (graduates) | 938 | $12,456 |
| Did not complete | 474 | $7,163 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $148.12/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1323 | $10,761 |
| No Stafford loan | 89 | $5,254 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1277 | $10,869 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 135 | $6,102 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 21.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4294 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,878 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $8,967 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,750 |
| Independent students | $11,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Lincoln Tech - Melrose Park.
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.
Important to Remember
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.