by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend SUNY Polytechnic Institute— 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.
Among first-year students at SUNY Poly, 56% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,598 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,859, equal to roughly 88.3% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at SUNY Poly (freshmen included), 45% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,123 each per year. This is 26.0% higher than the $4,859 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,246 in two years and roughly $24,492 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,123 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 799 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,892,645 |
The middle borrower at SUNY Poly owes $12,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,250 |
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 Poly.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $20,842 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,585 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at SUNY Poly.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SUNY Poly.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 405 | $16,559 |
| Completed (graduates) | 265 | $18,928 |
| Did not complete | 140 | $12,065 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $225.07/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SUNY Poly.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 322 | $16,932 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 83 | $14,256 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SUNY Poly.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SUNY Poly appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 641 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,000 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $12,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,250 |
| Independent students | $15,834 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SUNY Poly.
The Difference Between 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
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.