by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Stony Brook University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at SUNY Stony Brook, 42% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $7,246 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,075, which is 92.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at SUNY Stony Brook (freshmen included), 36% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $5,977 each per year. That amounts to 17.8% greater than the $5,075 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,954 in two years and roughly $23,908 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 36% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,977 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,195 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $37,028,610 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at SUNY Stony Brook carry a median federal debt of $15,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,228 |
| 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.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for SUNY Stony Brook.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,366 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,805 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at SUNY Stony Brook.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SUNY Stony Brook.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2027 | $20,300 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1327 | $21,400 |
| Did not complete | 700 | $19,296 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $254.47/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SUNY Stony Brook.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2001 | $20,500 |
| No Stafford loan | 26 | $17,751 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1450 | $19,162 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 577 | $24,196 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SUNY Stony Brook.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SUNY Stony Brook appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4160 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,500 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,975 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $14,873 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SUNY Stony Brook.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.