by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Carl Sandburg College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Carl Sandburg College, 4% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $3,153 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $3,153, which is 57.3% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Carl Sandburg College (freshmen included), 21% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $3,707 annually. It comes to 17.6% larger than the first-year federal average of $3,153.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $7,414 after two years and $14,828 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,707 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 236 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $874,768 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Carl Sandburg College carry a median federal debt of $3,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $3,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $4,909 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Carl Sandburg College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,000 |
| 25th percentile | $1,750 |
| 75th percentile | $5,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $8,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Carl Sandburg 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 Carl Sandburg College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 119 | $13,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 42 | $10,250 |
| Did not complete | 77 | $16,729 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $121.88/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Carl Sandburg College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 103 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 25 | $13,100 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 94 | $12,785 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Carl Sandburg College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Carl Sandburg College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 178 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $3,500 |
| Middle income | $3,500 |
| High income | $6,421 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $3,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $3,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $3,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Carl Sandburg College.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.