by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Western Suffolk BOCES— 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 Western Suffolk BOCES, 41% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $7,006 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,819. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Western Suffolk BOCES, 49% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,983 a year. That is 20.0% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,819.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,966 across two years and $27,932 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,983 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 149 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,040,525 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Western Suffolk BOCES carry a median federal debt of $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,339 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Western Suffolk BOCES.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $14,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,055 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Western Suffolk BOCES.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Western Suffolk BOCES.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 22 | $12,941 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Western Suffolk BOCES.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Western Suffolk BOCES follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 106 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $10,453 |
| High income | $9,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,732 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,000 |
| Independent students | $11,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Western Suffolk BOCES.
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.