by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Long Island University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at LIU Post, 58% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $7,091 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,517. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at LIU Post, 62% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $7,543 a year. This is 36.7% more than the $5,517 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $15,086 across two years and $30,172 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 62% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,543 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,396 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $25,616,068 |
The median student at LIU Post borrows $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,577 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 LIU Post.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $9,180 |
| 75th percentile | $28,884 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at LIU Post.
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 LIU Post.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2106 | $31,873 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1308 | $36,515 |
| Did not complete | 798 | $25,523 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $434.2/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 LIU Post.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2065 | $31,914 |
| No Stafford loan | 41 | $28,158 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1833 | $34,488 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 273 | $20,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. LIU Post.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for LIU Post appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4683 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,282 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $16,700 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,944 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,500 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at LIU Post.
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
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.