by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend CUNY Bernard M Baruch College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Baruch, 7% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $5,856 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,681, amounting to 85.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at Baruch, freshmen included, 11% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,571 each per year. That amounts to 40.4% above the $4,681 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,142 over two years and about $26,284 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,571 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,791 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,768,310 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Baruch carry a median federal debt of $10,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,512 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,250 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Baruch.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,400 |
| 25th percentile | $4,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Baruch.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Baruch.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 690 | $19,188 |
| Completed (graduates) | 419 | $20,000 |
| Did not complete | 271 | $17,500 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $237.82/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 Baruch.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 665 | $19,226 |
| No Stafford loan | 25 | $14,794 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 368 | $19,332 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 322 | $19,135 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Baruch.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Baruch appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1166 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $10,750 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,069 |
| Independent students | $12,439 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Baruch.
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.
Did You Know?
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.