by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Rochester— 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 University of Rochester, 37% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $7,664 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,170, representing 75.8% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at University of Rochester, 41% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $4,237 per year. This works out to 1.6% larger than the first-year federal average of $4,170.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $8,474 by year two and around $16,948 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,237 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,688 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,389,543 |
The median student at University of Rochester borrows $19,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for University of Rochester.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at University of Rochester.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at University of Rochester.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 915 | $28,475 |
| Completed (graduates) | 703 | $30,000 |
| Did not complete | 212 | $21,992 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $356.73/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at University of Rochester.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 899 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 703 | $30,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 212 | $20,751 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. University of Rochester.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for University of Rochester is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1535 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $19,000 |
| High income | $19,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,000 |
| Independent students | $16,091 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for University of Rochester.
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.
Did You Know?
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.