by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At CPI specifically, 64% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $7,776 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,230. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at CPI, freshmen included, 61% take out federal student loans, for a typical $9,416 annually. That amounts to 30.2% larger than the $7,230 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $18,832 in two years and roughly $37,664 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,416 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 110 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,035,713 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CPI carry a median federal debt of $7,480 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,480 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,454 |
| 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.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at CPI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,200 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CPI.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CPI.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 36 | $5,778 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CPI.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for CPI is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 115 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $7,247 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,600 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,917 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at CPI.
The Difference Between 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.
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.