by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical 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 SKYCTC specifically, 6% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $5,168 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,168, representing 94.0% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at SKYCTC (freshmen included), 15% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $5,486 in federal loans per year. This works out to 6.2% more than the $5,168 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,972 in two years and roughly $21,944 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 15% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,486 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 446 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,446,826 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SKYCTC carry a median federal debt of $7,600 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,600 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,175 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,024 |
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 SKYCTC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $4,000 |
| 75th percentile | $16,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,972 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at SKYCTC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SKYCTC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 248 | $9,488 |
| Completed (graduates) | 90 | $7,700 |
| Did not complete | 158 | $10,309 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $91.56/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SKYCTC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 238 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 96 | $8,501 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 152 | $10,104 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SKYCTC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SKYCTC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 25.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 844 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,293 |
| Middle income | $7,698 |
| High income | $6,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,971 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,045 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,000 |
| Independent students | $9,211 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SKYCTC.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.