by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend St Luke’s College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At St Luke’s College, 80% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $4,948 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,948, representing 90.0% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at St Luke’s College, freshmen included, 79% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $6,771 annually. That amounts to 36.8% more than the freshman federal average of $4,948.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,542 over two years and about $27,084 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.Undergraduate federal borrowing Value Share using federal loans 79% Average federal loan per year $6,771 Undergraduates with a federal loan 151 Total federal loans (one year) $1,022,460
Graduating and withdrawing students at St Luke’s College carry a median federal debt of $13,000 of cumulative federal debt.Borrower group Median federal debt All federal borrowers $13,000 Students who completed (graduates) $15,000 Students who withdrew $9,500
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 St Luke’s College.Percentile Cumulative Federal Debt 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) $2,750 25th percentile $6,500 75th percentile $20,000 90th percentile (highest-debt students) $26,000
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at St Luke’s College.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for St Luke’s College.Group Borrowers Median debt incl. PLUS All borrowers 51 $15,453
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at St Luke’s College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for St Luke’s College is shown below.Metric Value 2-year cohort default rate 4.8% Borrowers in the cohort 62
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.
Borrowing by Income TierIncome tier Median federal debt Low income $14,375 Middle income $13,390 High income $12,000
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen BorrowingCohort Median federal debt First-generation students $13,445 Continuing-generation students $12,000
By Dependency StatusCohort Median federal debt Dependent students $12,000 Independent students $20,000
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at St Luke’s College.
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
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.