by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for SUNY Adirondack: 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 SUNY Adirondack specifically, 30% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $5,687 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,061, equal to roughly 92.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. 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 SUNY Adirondack (freshmen included), 32% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $5,800 in federal loans per year. This is 14.6% higher than the $5,061 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $11,600 after two years and $23,200 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,800 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 629 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,647,963 |
The middle borrower at SUNY Adirondack owes $8,494 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,494 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,345 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,226 |
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 SUNY Adirondack.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,436 |
| 25th percentile | $3,848 |
| 75th percentile | $12,346 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $21,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SUNY Adirondack.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SUNY Adirondack.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 292 | $10,000 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SUNY Adirondack.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 190 | $9,487 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 102 | $12,975 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for SUNY Adirondack.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SUNY Adirondack follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 725 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $6,986 |
| High income | $8,002 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,442 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,567 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,002 |
| Independent students | $12,159 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SUNY Adirondack.
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?
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.