by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Notre Dame of Maryland University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At NDMU specifically, 59% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,304 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,563. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at NDMU, freshmen included, 49% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $7,114 each per year. That amounts to 27.9% above the $5,563 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,228 in two years and roughly $28,456 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,114 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 338 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,404,417 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at NDMU carry a median federal debt of $17,990 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,990 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,666 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,375 |
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 NDMU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,075 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at NDMU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at NDMU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 335 | $21,458 |
| Completed (graduates) | 194 | $22,517 |
| Did not complete | 141 | $18,783 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $267.75/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at NDMU.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 173 | $22,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 162 | $21,143 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at NDMU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for NDMU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 481 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $16,666 |
| Middle income | $19,839 |
| High income | $17,745 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,990 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,500 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at NDMU.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Worth Knowing
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.