by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Lee College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Lee College, 4% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $5,171 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,171, equal to roughly 94.0% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Lee College, freshmen included, 8% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $5,694 each per year. That is 10.1% greater than the $5,171 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,388 over two years and about $22,776 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 8% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,694 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 401 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,283,173 |
The middle borrower at Lee College owes $5,813 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,813 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,500 |
| 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.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Lee College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,184 |
| 75th percentile | $10,775 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,250 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Lee College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Lee College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 214 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 39 | $7,000 |
| Did not complete | 175 | $11,380 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $83.24/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Lee College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 203 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 41 | $7,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 173 | $10,709 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lee College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Lee College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 579 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,325 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,865 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,505 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $7,269 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Lee College.
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
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.