by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Lincoln College of Technology-Columbia: 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 Lincoln Tech - Columbia specifically, 74% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $7,730 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $7,730. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at Lincoln Tech - Columbia, freshmen included, 72% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $7,117 per year. This is 7.9% lower than the freshman federal average of $7,730.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,234 across two years and $28,468 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 72% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,117 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,249 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,888,919 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Lincoln Tech - Columbia carry a median federal debt of $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Lincoln Tech - Columbia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,504 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Lincoln Tech - Columbia.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Lincoln Tech - Columbia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1412 | $10,396 |
| Completed (graduates) | 938 | $12,456 |
| Did not complete | 474 | $7,163 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $148.12/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Lincoln Tech - Columbia.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1323 | $10,761 |
| No Stafford loan | 89 | $5,254 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1277 | $10,869 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 135 | $6,102 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Lincoln Tech - Columbia.
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 Lincoln Tech - Columbia follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 21.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4294 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $9,878 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $8,967 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,750 |
| Independent students | $11,250 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Lincoln Tech - Columbia.
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
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.