by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend St. Francis College— 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 SFC, 28% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $5,437 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,844, amounting to 88.1% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. 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 SFC, 29% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,174 in federal loans per year. This works out to 27.5% above the $4,844 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,348 by year two and around $24,696 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 29% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,174 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 561 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,463,604 |
The middle borrower at SFC owes $12,693 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,693 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 SFC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SFC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SFC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 393 | $18,938 |
| Completed (graduates) | 191 | $26,794 |
| Did not complete | 202 | $13,250 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $318.61/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SFC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 369 | $19,118 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 24 | $13,084 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SFC.
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 SFC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 525 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,059 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $15,625 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,023 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,178 |
| Independent students | $14,751 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SFC.
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.