by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend New Jersey Institute of Technology— 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 NJIT, 31% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $8,314 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,122, representing 93.1% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at NJIT, 34% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,679 per year. This works out to 30.4% above the $5,122 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,358 in two years and roughly $26,716 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,679 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,969 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $19,830,255 |
The median student at NJIT borrows $17,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for NJIT.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,250 |
| 25th percentile | $7,812 |
| 75th percentile | $28,900 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,820 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at NJIT.
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 NJIT.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 746 | $20,223 |
| Completed (graduates) | 426 | $22,866 |
| Did not complete | 320 | $17,335 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $271.9/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 NJIT.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 718 | $20,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 28 | $23,498 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 557 | $20,288 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 189 | $20,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. NJIT.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for NJIT appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1201 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,868 |
| Middle income | $16,750 |
| High income | $16,626 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,873 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,125 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,750 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for NJIT.
Subsidized vs. 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.