by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Waubonsee 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.
Looking at the entering class at Waubonsee, 13% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $3,426 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $3,395, amounting to 61.7% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at Waubonsee, 9% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $3,622 each per year. That amounts to 6.7% above the $3,395 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $7,244 by year two and around $14,488 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 9% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,622 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 520 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,883,389 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Waubonsee carry a median federal debt of $4,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Waubonsee.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,400 |
| 25th percentile | $2,250 |
| 75th percentile | $7,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $11,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Waubonsee.
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 Waubonsee.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 543 | $19,372 |
| Completed (graduates) | 78 | $19,687 |
| Did not complete | 465 | $19,372 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $234.1/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 Waubonsee.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 525 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 18 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 82 | $20,810 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 461 | $18,990 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Waubonsee.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Waubonsee is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 704 |
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 | $4,751 |
| Middle income | $3,869 |
| High income | $4,197 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $3,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $5,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Waubonsee.
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.
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.