by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute— 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.
Among first-year students at RPI, 59% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $8,964 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,238, equal to roughly 95.2% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at RPI (freshmen included), 51% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,167 per year. This is 17.7% more than the $5,238 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,334 across two years and $24,668 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 51% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,167 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,036 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,722,098 |
The middle borrower at RPI owes $21,995 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,995 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,313 |
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 RPI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $17,000 |
| 75th percentile | $35,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,349 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at RPI.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at RPI.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 436 | $42,471 |
| Completed (graduates) | 304 | $52,241 |
| Did not complete | 132 | $25,985 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $621.2/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at RPI.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 400 | $45,269 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 36 | $22,943 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at RPI.
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 RPI follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1220 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,250 |
| Middle income | $21,500 |
| High income | $21,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,869 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,250 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,750 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at RPI.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.