by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce, 21% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $3,833 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $3,771, representing 68.6% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce, freshmen included, 30% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $5,066 a year. That is 34.3% above the $3,771 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $10,132 across two years and $20,264 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 30% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,066 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,144 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,795,082 |
The median student at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce borrows $11,337 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,337 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,000 |
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 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,142 |
| 25th percentile | $3,900 |
| 75th percentile | $17,700 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce.
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 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 41 | $6,085 |
| Completed (graduates) | 20 | $5,711 |
| Did not complete | 21 | $6,085 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $67.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 29 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 20.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1941 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,000 |
| Middle income | $11,600 |
| High income | $15,626 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,200 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $15,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico - Ponce.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.