by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend St. Thomas Aquinas College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At STAC, 54% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $7,741 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,029, equal to roughly 91.4% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at STAC, 50% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $6,216 per year. That is 23.6% larger than the $5,029 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,432 over two years and about $24,864 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,216 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 509 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,164,015 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at STAC carry a median federal debt of $17,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,198 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,875 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for STAC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,751 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at STAC.
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 STAC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 257 | $25,860 |
| Completed (graduates) | 154 | $32,425 |
| Did not complete | 103 | $19,350 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $385.57/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at STAC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 238 | $26,347 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 19 | $19,400 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for STAC.
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 STAC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 423 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,429 |
| Middle income | $18,294 |
| High income | $18,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,395 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,500 |
| Independent students | $15,429 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at STAC.
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
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.