by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for SUNY Buffalo State 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.
Among first-year students at Buffalo State, 54% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $5,461 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,729, amounting to 86.0% 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Buffalo State, 51% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,177 a year. This works out to 30.6% higher than the $4,729 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,354 by year two and around $24,708 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 51% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,177 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,754 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,011,973 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Buffalo State carry a median federal debt of $12,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,028 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,923 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Buffalo State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,840 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Buffalo State.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Buffalo State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1245 | $11,872 |
| Completed (graduates) | 613 | $12,951 |
| Did not complete | 632 | $10,982 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $154.0/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at Buffalo State.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1235 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1105 | $11,522 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 140 | $16,783 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Buffalo State.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Buffalo State is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3303 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,837 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Buffalo State.
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.
Did You Know?
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.