by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend The University of Montana— 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.
Looking at the entering class at UM, 49% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,669 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,306, which is 96.5% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at UM (freshmen included), 44% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $7,498 each per year. That is 41.3% more than the $5,306 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,996 in two years and roughly $29,992 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 | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,498 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,109 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $23,310,759 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UM carry a median federal debt of $15,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,400 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at UM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,806 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,599 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UM.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1351 | $16,339 |
| Completed (graduates) | 493 | $19,000 |
| Did not complete | 858 | $15,001 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $225.93/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at UM.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1316 | $16,336 |
| No Stafford loan | 35 | $19,476 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1208 | $16,955 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 143 | $13,500 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. UM.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for UM follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3846 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,355 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $13,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,250 |
| Independent students | $16,984 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UM.
Subsidized and 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
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.