by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend CUNY Hunter College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Hunter specifically, 4% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $7,107 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,576, equal to roughly 83.2% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Hunter, freshmen included, 7% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $6,257 a year. That amounts to 36.7% greater than the first-year federal average of $4,576.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,514 across two years and $25,028 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,257 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,166 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,295,813 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Hunter carry a median federal debt of $8,812 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,812 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,883 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Hunter.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,191 |
| 25th percentile | $4,500 |
| 75th percentile | $18,025 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,255 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Hunter.
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 Hunter.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1314 | $19,686 |
| Completed (graduates) | 827 | $20,252 |
| Did not complete | 487 | $18,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $240.82/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Hunter.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1288 | $19,556 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $20,010 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 645 | $18,907 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 669 | $20,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Hunter.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Hunter is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2006 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,684 |
| Middle income | $8,000 |
| High income | $9,713 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,277 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,200 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,500 |
| Independent students | $12,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Hunter.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
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.