by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Lincoln Land Community 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.
At LLCC specifically, 20% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $5,063 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,828, which is 87.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at LLCC, 24% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,292 a year. That amounts to 9.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $4,828.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,584 over two years and about $21,168 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 24% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,292 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 926 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,900,216 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at LLCC carry a median federal debt of $6,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,011 |
| 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 LLCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,200 |
| 75th percentile | $11,291 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,105 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at LLCC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at LLCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 529 | $14,573 |
| Completed (graduates) | 136 | $10,970 |
| Did not complete | 393 | $15,200 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $130.44/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at LLCC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 511 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 18 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 157 | $9,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 372 | $15,971 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. LLCC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for LLCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 898 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,750 |
| Middle income | $6,025 |
| High income | $6,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,510 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,466 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for LLCC.
Subsidized vs. 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.