by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Hartwick College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Hartwick, 94% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $9,157 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,494, representing 99.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a 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 Hartwick, 82% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,480 in federal loans per year. This is 17.9% higher than the $5,494 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,960 over two years and about $25,920 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 82% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,480 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 898 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,818,690 |
The median student at Hartwick borrows $17,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Hartwick.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Hartwick.
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 Hartwick.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 315 | $28,175 |
| Completed (graduates) | 116 | $49,557 |
| Did not complete | 199 | $21,606 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $589.29/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Hartwick.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 292 | $27,768 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 23 | $33,552 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Hartwick.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Hartwick appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 400 |
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 | $14,750 |
| Middle income | $17,827 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,402 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,290 |
| Independent students | $19,701 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Hartwick.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
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.