by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Point Park 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.
At Point Park, 78% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $9,630 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,703. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. 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 Point Park, 75% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $7,127 a year. This is 25.0% more than the $5,703 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,254 across two years and $28,508 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 75% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,127 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,692 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,059,390 |
The median student at Point Park borrows $20,957 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,957 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $14,250 |
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 Point Park.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $28,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,250 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Point Park.
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 Point Park.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 855 | $21,400 |
| Completed (graduates) | 298 | $24,041 |
| Did not complete | 557 | $20,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $285.87/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Point Park.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 745 | $21,746 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 110 | $20,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Point Park.
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 Point Park appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1390 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $20,909 |
| Middle income | $21,000 |
| High income | $20,832 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $22,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Point Park.
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.