by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College— 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 Harold Washington College, 1% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $6,483 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $6,483. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. 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 Harold Washington College (freshmen included), 3% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $5,461 in federal loans per year. It comes to 15.8% less than the $6,483 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $10,922 in two years and roughly $21,844 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 3% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,461 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 137 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $748,110 |
The median student at Harold Washington College borrows $4,537 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,537 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $5,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,153 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Harold Washington College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,735 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $6,589 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $10,300 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Harold Washington College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Harold Washington College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 769 | $16,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 182 | $13,520 |
| Did not complete | 587 | $17,380 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $160.77/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Harold Washington College.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 743 | $16,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $16,704 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 58 | $15,594 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 711 | $16,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Harold Washington College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Harold Washington College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 185 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $4,750 |
| Middle income | $4,053 |
| High income | $4,863 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,466 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,075 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,504 |
| Independent students | $6,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Harold Washington 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.
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.