by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Northeast Iowa Community College: 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 NICC, 28% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $5,442 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,664, representing 84.8% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at NICC, 37% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $5,206 a year. That amounts to 11.6% greater than the $4,664 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $10,412 after two years and $20,824 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,206 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 646 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,362,775 |
The middle borrower at NICC owes $8,284 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,284 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,626 |
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 NICC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,896 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $13,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,025 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at NICC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for NICC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 202 | $9,790 |
| Completed (graduates) | 59 | $7,755 |
| Did not complete | 143 | $10,742 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $92.22/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at NICC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 96 | $7,968 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 106 | $11,057 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at NICC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for NICC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 19.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1401 |
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 | $9,648 |
| Middle income | $7,202 |
| High income | $5,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,707 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,732 |
| Independent students | $12,111 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for NICC.
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.