by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend CUNY Queens College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At QC, 6% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $6,042 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,899, amounting to 89.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 QC, 9% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $5,794 in federal loans per year. It comes to 18.3% more than the $4,899 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,588 over two years and about $23,176 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 | 9% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,794 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,168 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,767,307 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at QC carry a median federal debt of $8,580 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,580 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,298 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,149 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for QC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,254 |
| 25th percentile | $4,468 |
| 75th percentile | $15,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at QC.
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 QC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 782 | $15,972 |
| Completed (graduates) | 388 | $17,680 |
| Did not complete | 394 | $14,563 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $210.23/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at QC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 758 | $15,972 |
| No Stafford loan | 24 | $16,071 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 365 | $16,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 417 | $15,506 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. QC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for QC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1499 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $8,011 |
| Middle income | $8,286 |
| High income | $10,076 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,475 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,125 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,500 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at QC.
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?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.