by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Saint Joseph’s University - Lancaster— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at PA College, 68% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $8,790 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,379, or about 97.8% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at PA College, freshmen included, 55% take out federal student loans, averaging $7,162 a year. This is 33.1% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,379.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,324 over two years and about $28,648 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,162 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 864 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,187,841 |
The middle borrower at PA College owes $13,352 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,352 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at PA College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,985 |
| 25th percentile | $7,005 |
| 75th percentile | $21,610 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at PA College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for PA College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 292 | $16,072 |
| Completed (graduates) | 204 | $18,937 |
| Did not complete | 88 | $10,750 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $225.18/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at PA College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 223 | $16,800 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 69 | $12,364 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. PA College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for PA College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 261 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,749 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $16,862 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at PA College.
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.
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.