by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Sauk Valley Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Sauk Valley Community College specifically, 12% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $4,830 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,830, equal to roughly 87.8% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at Sauk Valley Community College (freshmen included), 9% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,219 a year. This is 8.1% above the $4,830 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $10,438 across two years and $20,876 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 | 9% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,219 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 107 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $558,410 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Sauk Valley Community College carry a median federal debt of $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Sauk Valley Community College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,301 |
| 75th percentile | $6,914 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $10,687 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Sauk Valley Community College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Sauk Valley Community College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 76 | $13,475 |
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 Sauk Valley Community College.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 61 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Sauk Valley Community College.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Sauk Valley Community College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 288 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,500 |
| Middle income | $5,250 |
| High income | $4,923 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,231 |
| Independent students | $6,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Sauk Valley Community College.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Worth Knowing
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.