by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Saint Joseph’s Maine, 80% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $12,399 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,504. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at Saint Joseph’s Maine (freshmen included), 68% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,664 each per year. That is 21.1% greater than the $5,504 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,328 after two years and $26,656 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 68% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,664 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 631 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,204,672 |
The middle borrower at Saint Joseph’s Maine owes $19,576 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,576 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 Saint Joseph’s Maine.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,177 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,124 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Saint Joseph’s Maine.
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 Saint Joseph’s Maine.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 373 | $20,250 |
| Completed (graduates) | 198 | $25,900 |
| Did not complete | 175 | $17,637 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $307.98/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Saint Joseph’s Maine.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 256 | $25,553 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 117 | $15,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Saint Joseph’s Maine.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Saint Joseph’s Maine follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 487 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,000 |
| Middle income | $16,750 |
| High income | $23,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,149 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $23,757 |
| Independent students | $9,917 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Saint Joseph’s Maine.
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.
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.