by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Montclair State University— 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.
At Montclair State, 45% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $7,803 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,182, equal to roughly 94.2% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Montclair State, freshmen included, 41% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,360 a year. That amounts to 22.7% above the freshman federal average of $5,182.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,720 after two years and $25,440 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,360 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 7,317 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $46,535,254 |
The middle borrower at Montclair State owes $17,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,573 |
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 Montclair State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Montclair State.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Montclair State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2600 | $22,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1666 | $24,693 |
| Did not complete | 934 | $17,598 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $293.63/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Montclair State.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2563 | $22,168 |
| No Stafford loan | 37 | $15,311 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2274 | $22,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 326 | $22,566 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Montclair State.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Montclair State is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3474 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,250 |
| Middle income | $17,750 |
| High income | $17,125 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,400 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,939 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Montclair State.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Did You Know?
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.