by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend New Mexico State University-Main Campus— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at NMSU Main Campus, 23% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $4,402 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $3,503, or about 63.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at NMSU Main Campus, freshmen included, 21% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $5,302 a year. This works out to 51.4% more than the first-year federal average of $3,503.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,604 by year two and around $21,208 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,302 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,410 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,777,686 |
The median student at NMSU Main Campus borrows $10,250 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $17,095 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,043 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for NMSU Main Campus.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,250 |
| 25th percentile | $4,468 |
| 75th percentile | $23,359 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,728 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at NMSU Main Campus.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at NMSU Main Campus.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 588 | $9,512 |
| Completed (graduates) | 251 | $10,166 |
| Did not complete | 337 | $8,414 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $120.88/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at NMSU Main Campus.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 559 | $9,600 |
| No Stafford loan | 29 | $8,000 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 427 | $9,082 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 161 | $10,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at NMSU Main Campus.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for NMSU Main Campus appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5246 |
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 | $10,688 |
| Middle income | $9,443 |
| High income | $10,250 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,000 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at NMSU Main Campus.
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.