by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend St Charles Community College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At SCC, 8% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $4,208 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,208, or about 76.5% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at SCC, freshmen included, 7% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $4,525 per year. That is 7.5% more than the first-year federal average of $4,208.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $9,050 across two years and $18,100 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 | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,525 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 372 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,683,291 |
The middle borrower at SCC owes $4,832 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,832 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $6,187 |
| 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.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,285 |
| 25th percentile | $2,300 |
| 75th percentile | $8,562 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,100 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 530 | $13,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 77 | $12,100 |
| Did not complete | 453 | $13,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $143.88/mo.
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 SCC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 513 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 79 | $9,275 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 451 | $14,148 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for SCC.
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 SCC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 707 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,549 |
| Middle income | $4,750 |
| High income | $4,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,020 |
| Independent students | $6,525 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SCC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
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.