by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Linn-Benton 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.
At LBCC, 68% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $5,788 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,788. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at LBCC, 41% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,539 in federal loans per year. It comes to 13.0% more than the $5,788 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,078 across two years and $26,156 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,539 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,960 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,815,517 |
The median student at LBCC borrows $6,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,961 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 LBCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,111 |
| 75th percentile | $12,666 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at LBCC.
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 LBCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 680 | $16,838 |
| Completed (graduates) | 59 | $12,466 |
| Did not complete | 621 | $17,287 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $148.23/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at LBCC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 641 | $17,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 39 | $14,728 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 199 | $11,325 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 481 | $18,924 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. LBCC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for LBCC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1671 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,212 |
| Middle income | $7,000 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for LBCC.
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.
Did You Know?
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.