by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend St. Joseph’s University-New York— 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.
At SJC specifically, 49% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $7,234 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,158, which is 93.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at SJC, 53% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $7,084 annually. That is 37.3% more than the $5,158 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,168 by year two and around $28,336 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 53% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,084 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,753 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,418,751 |
The median student at SJC borrows $17,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SJC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,150 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SJC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SJC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 736 | $23,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 505 | $26,471 |
| Did not complete | 231 | $15,531 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $314.77/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SJC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 723 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 644 | $23,415 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 92 | $20,520 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SJC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SJC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1378 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,834 |
| Middle income | $15,750 |
| High income | $18,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,013 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,000 |
| Independent students | $19,250 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SJC.
The Difference Between 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
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.