by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Lewis and Clark Community College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Lewis and Clark Community College, 16% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $4,576 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,502, which is 81.9% 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Lewis and Clark Community College, 18% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $4,231 per year. That amounts to 6.0% under the freshman federal average of $4,502.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $8,462 after two years and $16,924 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 18% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,231 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 423 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,789,584 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Lewis and Clark Community College carry a median federal debt of $5,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,751 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Lewis and Clark Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,200 |
| 25th percentile | $1,750 |
| 75th percentile | $6,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $10,250 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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 Lewis and Clark Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 295 | $11,903 |
| Completed (graduates) | 100 | $11,530 |
| Did not complete | 195 | $12,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $137.1/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Lewis and Clark Community College.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 284 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 103 | $9,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 192 | $13,876 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lewis and Clark Community College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Lewis and Clark Community College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 622 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $3,500 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $4,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Lewis and Clark Community College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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
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.