by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Scranton: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At University of Scranton, 65% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $9,870 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,272, representing 95.9% 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 University of Scranton (freshmen included), 65% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $6,470 per year. This is 22.7% more than the $5,272 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,940 in two years and roughly $25,880 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 65% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,470 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,341 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $15,145,151 |
The middle borrower at University of Scranton owes $25,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $25,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,966 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 of Scranton.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at University of Scranton.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for University of Scranton.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 742 | $33,716 |
| Completed (graduates) | 572 | $41,370 |
| Did not complete | 170 | $23,903 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $491.93/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at University of Scranton.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 666 | $37,144 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 76 | $20,732 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for University of Scranton.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for University of Scranton follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1273 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $25,899 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $25,380 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $25,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $25,500 |
| Independent students | $25,375 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for University of Scranton.
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.