by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University at Buffalo— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at University at Buffalo, 47% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, for an average of $7,857 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,162, equal to roughly 93.9% 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 University at Buffalo (freshmen included), 40% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,247 per year. It comes to 21.0% larger than the $5,162 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,494 by year two and around $24,988 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 40% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,247 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 8,131 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $50,795,262 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at University at Buffalo carry a median federal debt of $14,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 University at Buffalo.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,600 |
| 75th percentile | $24,403 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,400 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at University at Buffalo.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for University at Buffalo.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2612 | $18,885 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1574 | $20,734 |
| Did not complete | 1038 | $16,149 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $246.55/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 University at Buffalo.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2579 | $18,907 |
| No Stafford loan | 33 | $16,073 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2258 | $18,653 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 354 | $20,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at University at Buffalo.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for University at Buffalo is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5246 |
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 | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $14,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,291 |
| Independent students | $13,667 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for University at Buffalo.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.