by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Curry College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Curry, 82% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $11,149 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,613. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at Curry, freshmen included, 72% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $6,735 per year. That amounts to 20.0% higher than the $5,613 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,470 in two years and roughly $26,940 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 72% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,735 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,289 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,681,238 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Curry carry a median federal debt of $18,320 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,320 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 Curry.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Curry.
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 Curry.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 458 | $31,817 |
| Completed (graduates) | 243 | $51,615 |
| Did not complete | 215 | $23,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $613.76/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Curry.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 400 | $37,376 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 58 | $16,705 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Curry.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Curry follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 809 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,497 |
| Middle income | $17,000 |
| High income | $21,625 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,425 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $17,498 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Curry.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.