by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Lake Forest College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Lake Forest, 70% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $6,994 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,455, which is 99.2% 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 Lake Forest, 67% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,906 a year. That is 26.6% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,455.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,812 by year two and around $27,624 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 67% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,906 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,195 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,252,564 |
The median student at Lake Forest borrows $21,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,158 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
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 Lake Forest.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $14,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Lake Forest.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Lake Forest.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 149 | $28,400 |
| Completed (graduates) | 117 | $35,000 |
| Did not complete | 32 | $14,339 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $416.19/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lake Forest.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Lake Forest appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 323 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $21,267 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $23,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,500 |
| Independent students | $16,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Lake Forest.
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.
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.