by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend New Jersey City University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at NJCU, 26% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $6,409 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,129, which is 93.3% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at NJCU, 29% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,991 per year. It comes to 36.3% larger than the $5,129 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,982 over two years and about $27,964 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 29% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,991 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,193 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,339,801 |
The middle borrower at NJCU owes $14,250 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,939 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for NJCU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $23,582 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,225 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at NJCU.
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 NJCU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 776 | $13,103 |
| Completed (graduates) | 357 | $13,884 |
| Did not complete | 419 | $13,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $165.1/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 NJCU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 633 | $12,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 143 | $16,868 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. NJCU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for NJCU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1688 |
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 | $13,808 |
| Middle income | $14,250 |
| High income | $14,903 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,666 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $17,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for NJCU.
The Difference Between 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
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.