by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Dyersburg State Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At DSCC specifically, 3% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $4,860 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,860, which is 88.4% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at DSCC, 11% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $5,690 annually. That amounts to 17.1% above the $4,860 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,380 across two years and $22,760 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,690 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 216 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,229,058 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at DSCC carry a median federal debt of $4,475 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,475 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,900 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for DSCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,400 |
| 25th percentile | $1,890 |
| 75th percentile | $7,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $11,700 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at DSCC.
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 DSCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 113 | $8,574 |
| Completed (graduates) | 25 | $8,574 |
| Did not complete | 88 | $8,462 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $101.95/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at DSCC.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 37 | $8,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 76 | $9,285 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. DSCC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for DSCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 834 |
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 | $3,700 |
| Middle income | $4,500 |
| High income | $4,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,475 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,125 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $4,974 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for DSCC.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
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.