by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Saint Joseph’s University - Philadelphia, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at St. Joe’s, 67% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $10,960 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,334, equal to roughly 97.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at St. Joe’s (freshmen included), 57% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,510 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 22.0% above the freshman federal average of $5,334.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,020 after two years and $26,040 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 57% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,510 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,709 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,635,954 |
The middle borrower at St. Joe’s owes $21,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at St. Joe’s.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $9,737 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at St. Joe’s.
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 St. Joe’s.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1020 | $35,777 |
| Completed (graduates) | 750 | $42,436 |
| Did not complete | 270 | $23,939 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $504.61/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 St. Joe’s.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1007 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 819 | $42,404 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 201 | $22,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. St. Joe’s.
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 St. Joe’s follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1609 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $20,916 |
| Middle income | $23,421 |
| High income | $20,616 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,733 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,463 |
| Independent students | $21,992 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at St. Joe’s.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.