by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Fortis Institute-Scranton: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Fortis Institute - Scranton, 82% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $7,963 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $7,882. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Fortis Institute - Scranton, 74% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $8,481 per year. That amounts to 7.6% greater than the first-year federal average of $7,882.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $16,962 in two years and roughly $33,924 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 74% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,481 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 152 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,289,080 |
The median student at Fortis Institute - Scranton borrows $8,063 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $8,063 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,173 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Fortis Institute - Scranton.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $7,122 |
| 75th percentile | $20,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,477 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Fortis Institute - Scranton.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Fortis Institute - Scranton.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 130 | $5,200 |
| Completed (graduates) | 93 | $5,105 |
| Did not complete | 37 | $6,900 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $60.7/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Fortis Institute - Scranton.
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 Fortis Institute - Scranton appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 387 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,640 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $12,813 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,138 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,050 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,667 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Fortis Institute - Scranton.
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
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.