by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Columbia University in the City of New York: 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 Columbia, 6% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $17,037 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,317, amounting to 96.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at Columbia, 14% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $9,390 per year. It comes to 76.6% higher than the $5,317 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $18,780 by year two and around $37,560 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 14% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,390 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,249 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,728,059 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Columbia carry a median federal debt of $18,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $13,275 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Columbia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,508 |
| 25th percentile | $8,636 |
| 75th percentile | $28,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $52,600 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Columbia.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Columbia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1888 | $34,005 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1337 | $35,000 |
| Did not complete | 551 | $30,461 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $416.19/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Columbia.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1799 | $33,790 |
| No Stafford loan | 89 | $44,380 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1400 | $35,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 488 | $30,456 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Columbia.
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 Columbia appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4558 |
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 | $23,000 |
| Middle income | $16,259 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Columbia.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.