by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend William Paterson University of New Jersey, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at William Paterson University, 52% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $6,287 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,019, representing 91.3% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at William Paterson University (freshmen included), 43% take out federal student loans, at an average of $6,618 in federal loans per year. It comes to 31.9% more than the $5,019 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,236 after two years and $26,472 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 | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,618 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,805 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,562,477 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at William Paterson University carry a median federal debt of $15,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,334 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 William Paterson University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at William Paterson University.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for William Paterson University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1294 | $17,332 |
| Completed (graduates) | 665 | $20,000 |
| Did not complete | 629 | $14,965 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $237.82/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 William Paterson University.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1281 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 13 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1147 | $17,300 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 147 | $17,500 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at William Paterson University.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for William Paterson University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2466 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,250 |
| Middle income | $15,500 |
| High income | $17,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,525 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,472 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,174 |
| Independent students | $17,769 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at William Paterson University.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.