by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Massachusetts Global, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Brandman, 36% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $6,954 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,954. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Brandman, 26% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $9,491 annually. That amounts to 36.5% higher than the $6,954 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $18,982 across two years and $37,964 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 26% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,491 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,269 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,044,565 |
The middle borrower at Brandman owes $18,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,276 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Brandman.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,166 |
| 25th percentile | $7,866 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Brandman.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Brandman.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1105 | $12,432 |
| Completed (graduates) | 294 | $11,049 |
| Did not complete | 811 | $13,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $131.38/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Brandman.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1095 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 597 | $12,105 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 508 | $13,218 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Brandman.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Brandman is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4840 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,529 |
| Middle income | $18,689 |
| High income | $15,625 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,000 |
| Independent students | $19,780 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Brandman.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.