by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Saint Joseph— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at USJ, 75% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $10,555 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,345, representing 97.2% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at USJ (freshmen included), 75% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,927 per year. It comes to 29.6% higher than the $5,345 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,854 after two years and $27,708 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 75% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,927 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 621 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,301,408 |
The middle borrower at USJ owes $24,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $24,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for USJ.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $29,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at USJ.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at USJ.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 404 | $23,371 |
| Completed (graduates) | 244 | $25,425 |
| Did not complete | 160 | $19,163 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $302.33/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at USJ.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 356 | $22,333 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 48 | $26,689 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. USJ.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for USJ appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 465 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $25,000 |
| Middle income | $24,233 |
| High income | $21,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $24,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,875 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,813 |
| Independent students | $26,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for USJ.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.