by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Dawson Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at DCC, 41% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $6,285 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,407, representing 98.3% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. 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 DCC, 31% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $5,364 in federal loans per year. It comes to 0.8% below the $5,407 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $10,728 by year two and around $21,456 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 31% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,364 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 72 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $386,226 |
The median student at DCC borrows $5,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,450 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 DCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,948 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $11,800 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,128 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at DCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for DCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 52 | $10,922 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at DCC.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 40 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at DCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for DCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 106 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,500 |
| Middle income | $5,847 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,096 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at DCC.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.