by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Dakota County Technical College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At DCTC specifically, 34% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $6,276 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,201, or about 94.6% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at DCTC, 32% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,114 per year. This works out to 17.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,201.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,228 after two years and $24,456 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 | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,114 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 671 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,102,390 |
The median student at DCTC borrows $8,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at DCTC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,433 |
| 75th percentile | $14,975 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,880 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at DCTC.
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 DCTC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 123 | $10,338 |
| Completed (graduates) | 55 | $11,000 |
| Did not complete | 68 | $9,945 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $130.8/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at DCTC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 68 | $8,821 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 55 | $11,500 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at DCTC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for DCTC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 994 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $8,447 |
| High income | $6,800 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,274 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,950 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at DCTC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
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.