by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus— 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.
At Pitt specifically, 49% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $11,992 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,368, equal to roughly 97.6% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. 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 Pitt (freshmen included), 45% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,358 each per year. That amounts to 18.4% above the $5,368 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,716 across two years and $25,432 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 | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,358 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 9,079 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $57,727,157 |
The middle borrower at Pitt owes $20,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Pitt.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $9,750 |
| 75th percentile | $28,150 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,438 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Pitt.
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 Pitt.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3593 | $29,237 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2569 | $35,031 |
| Did not complete | 1024 | $20,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $416.56/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 Pitt.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3557 | $29,400 |
| No Stafford loan | 36 | $18,703 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3220 | $30,006 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 373 | $21,776 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Pitt.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Pitt follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 8077 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,500 |
| Middle income | $20,500 |
| High income | $20,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $20,036 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Pitt.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.