by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Molloy University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Molloy, 72% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $8,132 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,294, or about 96.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 Molloy, 66% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $7,177 a year. It comes to 35.6% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,294.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,354 in two years and roughly $28,708 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 | 66% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,177 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,107 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $15,122,056 |
The median student at Molloy borrows $24,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $24,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Molloy.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Molloy.
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 Molloy.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1059 | $31,498 |
| Completed (graduates) | 658 | $39,248 |
| Did not complete | 401 | $21,360 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $466.7/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Molloy.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1044 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 15 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 833 | $33,850 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 226 | $21,608 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Molloy.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Molloy follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 933 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $25,000 |
| Middle income | $23,250 |
| High income | $23,675 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $24,039 |
| Continuing-generation students | $25,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,795 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Molloy.
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.
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.