by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Eastern Iowa Community College District: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, 21% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $4,887 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $4,779, representing 86.9% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (freshmen included), 37% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,112 in federal loans per year. That is 27.9% more than the $4,779 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,224 after two years and $24,448 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 | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,112 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,216 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,432,317 |
The median student at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges borrows $7,970 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,970 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,739 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,994 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $12,600 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $22,039 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
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 Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 521 | $13,794 |
| Completed (graduates) | 98 | $9,625 |
| Did not complete | 423 | $14,607 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $114.45/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 146 | $8,255 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 375 | $16,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1972 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $6,500 |
| High income | $6,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
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.
Did You Know?
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.