by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend College of DuPage, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At COD specifically, 22% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $5,690 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,305, amounting to 96.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at COD, 15% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $5,985 in federal loans per year. It comes to 12.8% more than the $5,305 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,970 over two years and about $23,940 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 15% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,985 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,310 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $13,824,287 |
The middle borrower at COD owes $5,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,410 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for COD.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $11,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,007 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at COD.
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 COD.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2903 | $22,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 448 | $18,468 |
| Did not complete | 2455 | $23,084 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $219.6/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at COD.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2784 | $22,659 |
| No Stafford loan | 119 | $21,766 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 465 | $15,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 2438 | $24,051 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. COD.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for COD is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1856 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,750 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,074 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for COD.
The Difference Between 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.
Worth Knowing
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.