by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Lincoln Technical Institute - South Plainfield— 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.
Looking at the entering class at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield, 64% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $8,775 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $8,775. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield, 72% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $7,421 in federal loans per year. It comes to 15.4% below the $8,775 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,842 over two years and about $29,684 over four years. 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 | $7,421 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 380 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,820,110 |
The middle borrower at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield owes $9,524 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,524 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,730 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
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 Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,662 |
| 75th percentile | $14,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $18,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield.
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 Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3310 | $13,336 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2311 | $15,166 |
| Did not complete | 999 | $8,262 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $180.34/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3125 | $13,716 |
| No Stafford loan | 185 | $3,785 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3060 | $13,767 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 250 | $4,344 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 21.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5253 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,832 |
| Middle income | $9,833 |
| High income | $9,192 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,645 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,500 |
| Independent students | $12,125 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Lincoln Tech - South Plainfield.
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.
Important to Remember
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.