by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Pace University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at Pace University, 55% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $9,924 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,385, or about 97.9% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at Pace University, freshmen included, 48% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,421 a year. It comes to 19.2% larger than the $5,385 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,842 after two years and $25,684 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 48% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,421 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,673 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $23,585,333 |
The median student at Pace University borrows $17,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Pace University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,421 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Pace University.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Pace University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2743 | $37,007 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1596 | $46,275 |
| Did not complete | 1147 | $29,180 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $550.26/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Pace University.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2666 | $38,069 |
| No Stafford loan | 77 | $20,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2439 | $39,499 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 304 | $22,500 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Pace University.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Pace University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2509 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $18,000 |
| Middle income | $18,500 |
| High income | $16,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,500 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Pace University.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.