by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Penn State Greater Allegheny, 62% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $6,969 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,360, which is 97.5% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Penn State Greater Allegheny (freshmen included), 60% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,143 each per year. It comes to 14.6% higher than the $5,360 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,286 in two years and roughly $24,572 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 60% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,143 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 215 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,320,706 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Penn State Greater Allegheny carry a median federal debt of $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Penn State Greater Allegheny.
| 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 spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 10635 | $30,836 |
| Completed (graduates) | 7092 | $38,368 |
| Did not complete | 3543 | $22,106 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $456.24/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 10366 | $30,879 |
| No Stafford loan | 269 | $28,424 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 9122 | $33,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1513 | $22,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Penn State Greater Allegheny.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Penn State Greater Allegheny is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 17856 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,000 |
| Middle income | $20,000 |
| High income | $19,700 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $19,486 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
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.