by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend College of Staten Island CUNY: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at CSI, 11% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $7,174 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,328, which is 96.9% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at CSI, 11% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $5,800 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 8.9% above the $5,328 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,600 over two years and about $23,200 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 11% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,800 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,021 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,921,914 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CSI carry a median federal debt of $8,846 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,846 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,350 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 CSI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,237 |
| 25th percentile | $4,450 |
| 75th percentile | $16,893 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,003 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CSI.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at CSI.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 588 | $13,143 |
| Completed (graduates) | 242 | $15,568 |
| Did not complete | 346 | $11,753 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $185.12/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 CSI.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 551 | $13,204 |
| No Stafford loan | 37 | $9,564 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 317 | $11,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 271 | $15,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CSI.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for CSI appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1337 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $6,716 |
| Middle income | $7,816 |
| High income | $11,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,265 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,240 |
| Independent students | $10,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CSI.
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
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.