by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Ithaca College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Ithaca, 68% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $5,363 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,363, equal to roughly 97.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Ithaca, 65% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,372 in federal loans per year. It comes to 18.8% above the freshman federal average of $5,363.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,744 over two years and about $25,488 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 65% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,372 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,818 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,956,738 |
The middle borrower at Ithaca owes $19,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Ithaca.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,355 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,200 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Ithaca.
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 Ithaca.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 660 | $45,144 |
| Completed (graduates) | 511 | $53,476 |
| Did not complete | 149 | $25,407 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $635.89/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 Ithaca.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 638 | $45,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 22 | $47,723 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 626 | $44,928 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 34 | $49,694 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Ithaca.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Ithaca is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1466 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,500 |
| Middle income | $21,367 |
| High income | $19,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $24,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Ithaca.
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.
Important to Remember
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.