by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend CUNY Hostos Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Hostos, 4% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $4,109 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $4,109, which is 74.7% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at Hostos, 7% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $5,622 per year. That amounts to 36.8% greater than the $4,109 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,244 after two years and $22,488 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 | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,622 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 333 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,872,261 |
The median student at Hostos borrows $6,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,442 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,374 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Hostos.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,500 |
| 25th percentile | $2,750 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $16,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Hostos.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Hostos.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 213 | $6,750 |
| Completed (graduates) | 44 | $5,796 |
| Did not complete | 169 | $6,933 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $68.92/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Hostos.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 32 | $8,081 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 181 | $6,627 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Hostos.
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 Hostos follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 231 |
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 | $6,500 |
| Middle income | $5,750 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,300 |
| Independent students | $7,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Hostos.
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.
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.