by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Albright College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Albright, 76% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $7,416 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,897, which is 89.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Albright, 75% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,177 per year. That is 26.1% higher than the $4,897 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,354 in two years and roughly $24,708 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 75% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,177 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 971 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,997,863 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Albright carry a median federal debt of $23,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $23,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Albright.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $30,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Albright.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Albright.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 355 | $21,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 221 | $31,921 |
| Did not complete | 134 | $12,109 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $379.57/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 Albright.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 338 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 17 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Albright.
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 Albright follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 669 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,250 |
| Middle income | $24,477 |
| High income | $24,125 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $25,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $23,250 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Albright.
Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.