by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for St. Mary’s College of Maryland: 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.
Among first-year students at SMCM, 47% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $7,606 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,104, representing 92.8% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at SMCM (freshmen included), 43% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,133 a year. That is 20.2% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,104.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,266 by year two and around $24,532 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,133 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 674 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,133,565 |
The median student at SMCM borrows $17,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SMCM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $25,624 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,454 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SMCM.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for SMCM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 222 | $28,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 148 | $36,119 |
| Did not complete | 74 | $19,070 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $429.49/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for SMCM.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for SMCM follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 354 |
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 | $14,883 |
| Middle income | $16,750 |
| High income | $18,088 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,817 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,342 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,550 |
| Independent students | $13,771 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for SMCM.
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.
Did You Know?
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.