by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Lyon College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Lyon, 76% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $12,621 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,641. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at Lyon, freshmen included, 66% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $5,915 a year. This is 22.6% smaller than the $7,641 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,830 by year two and around $23,660 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 66% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,915 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 375 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,218,312 |
The middle borrower at Lyon owes $10,699 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,699 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Lyon.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,720 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Lyon.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Lyon.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 86 | $14,915 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lyon.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Lyon is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 152 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $11,000 |
| High income | $11,185 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $7,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Lyon.
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.
Important to Remember
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.