by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend St Catherine University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At St. Kate’s, 55% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $7,730 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,107, which is 92.9% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Looking at all undergraduates at St. Kate’s, freshmen included, 60% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $7,086 a year. That amounts to 38.8% larger than the $5,107 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,172 by year two and around $28,344 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 | 60% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,086 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,428 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,118,461 |
The middle borrower at St. Kate’s owes $19,716 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,716 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,181 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,384 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for St. Kate’s.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $10,500 |
| 75th percentile | $31,936 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at St. Kate’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. Kate’s.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 654 | $19,126 |
| Completed (graduates) | 422 | $21,883 |
| Did not complete | 232 | $15,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $260.21/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at St. Kate’s.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 555 | $19,900 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 99 | $17,502 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for St. Kate’s.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for St. Kate’s is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1362 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,000 |
| Middle income | $20,000 |
| High income | $19,064 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,896 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,290 |
| Independent students | $20,008 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at St. Kate’s.
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.
Important to Remember
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.