by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Pratt Institute-Main: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Pratt Institute, 41% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $9,919 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,059, or about 92.0% 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 Pratt Institute, 35% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,547 a year. It comes to 29.4% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,059.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,094 by year two and around $26,188 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 35% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,547 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,325 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,674,328 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Pratt Institute carry a median federal debt of $20,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Pratt Institute.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,147 |
| 75th percentile | $29,944 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Pratt Institute.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Pratt Institute.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 613 | $69,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 428 | $88,930 |
| Did not complete | 185 | $38,992 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $1057.47/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 Pratt Institute.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 600 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 584 | $71,289 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 29 | $20,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Pratt Institute.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Pratt Institute appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1133 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,274 |
| Middle income | $23,250 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $25,125 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Pratt Institute.
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
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.