by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Metropolitan College of New York: 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.
At MCNY, 64% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,556 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $7,556. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. 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 MCNY, 71% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $11,506 a year. This is 52.3% above the $7,556 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $23,012 after two years and $46,024 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $11,506 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 305 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,509,349 |
The median student at MCNY borrows $20,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,688 |
| Students who withdrew | $14,250 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for MCNY.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $34,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,600 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MCNY.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for MCNY.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 104 | $10,624 |
| Completed (graduates) | 43 | $13,295 |
| Did not complete | 61 | $8,600 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $158.09/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at MCNY.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 93 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 11 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at MCNY.
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 MCNY is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 632 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,500 |
| Middle income | $19,000 |
| High income | $12,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,125 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $21,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for MCNY.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.