by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Union 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.
At Union College specifically, 50% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $7,717 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,029, which is 91.4% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Union College (freshmen included), 44% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,067 annually. It comes to 20.6% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,029.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,134 in two years and roughly $24,268 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,067 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 909 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,515,130 |
The median student at Union College borrows $21,085 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,085 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,337 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,667 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Union College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,600 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,824 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Union College.
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 Union College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 108 | $52,700 |
| Completed (graduates) | 85 | $57,000 |
| Did not complete | 23 | $22,000 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $677.79/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Union College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Union College appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 281 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,560 |
| Middle income | $19,250 |
| High income | $22,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $22,911 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Union College.
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.
Important to Remember
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.