by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for State University of New York at Oswego: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At SUNY Oswego specifically, 61% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,256 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,393, representing 98.1% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at SUNY Oswego, 53% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,563 per year. That amounts to 21.7% higher than the $5,393 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,126 in two years and roughly $26,252 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 53% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,563 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,955 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $19,393,178 |
The median student at SUNY Oswego borrows $15,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,880 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,452 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SUNY Oswego.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,659 |
| 25th percentile | $8,071 |
| 75th percentile | $26,898 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,400 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SUNY Oswego.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at SUNY Oswego.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1666 | $16,761 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1074 | $19,416 |
| Did not complete | 592 | $13,587 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $230.88/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SUNY Oswego.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1645 | $16,771 |
| No Stafford loan | 21 | $10,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1505 | $16,765 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 161 | $16,687 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at SUNY Oswego.
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 SUNY Oswego follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2408 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,817 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,489 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,418 |
| Independent students | $18,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SUNY Oswego.
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.