by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Ulster County Community 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.
Looking at the entering class at SUNY Ulster, 7% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $5,031 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,759, equal to roughly 86.5% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at SUNY Ulster (freshmen included), 12% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $5,028 each per year. That is 5.7% higher than the $4,759 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $10,056 by year two and around $20,112 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 12% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,028 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 154 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $774,359 |
The middle borrower at SUNY Ulster owes $6,266 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,266 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,173 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at SUNY Ulster.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,313 |
| 25th percentile | $2,441 |
| 75th percentile | $9,320 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,100 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SUNY Ulster.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at SUNY Ulster.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 215 | $14,443 |
| Completed (graduates) | 47 | $12,700 |
| Did not complete | 168 | $16,141 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $151.02/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SUNY Ulster.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 44 | $12,969 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 171 | $16,083 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SUNY Ulster.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for SUNY Ulster follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 452 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $5,810 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $8,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,030 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,306 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,202 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SUNY Ulster.
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.
Did You Know?
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.