by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At SMU MN, 55% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $10,393 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $6,211. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at SMU MN, 47% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $6,437 a year. This is 3.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $6,211.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,874 over two years and about $25,748 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,437 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 500 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,218,331 |
The middle borrower at SMU MN owes $16,099 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,099 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,776 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 SMU MN.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,168 |
| 25th percentile | $7,846 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SMU MN.
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 SMU MN.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 662 | $13,559 |
| Completed (graduates) | 392 | $14,676 |
| Did not complete | 270 | $11,658 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $174.51/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at SMU MN.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 521 | $13,224 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 141 | $14,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. SMU MN.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SMU MN is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1496 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $16,101 |
| High income | $18,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,039 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,463 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,946 |
| Independent students | $12,548 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at SMU MN.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
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.