by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Towson University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Towson, 46% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $6,463 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $4,678, representing 85.1% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 Towson (freshmen included), 42% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,305 each per year. That amounts to 34.8% more than the $4,678 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,610 by year two and around $25,220 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 42% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,305 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,876 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $43,356,183 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Towson carry a median federal debt of $15,362 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,362 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,718 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,500 |
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 Towson.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,283 |
| 75th percentile | $23,991 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,750 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Towson.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Towson.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3566 | $24,083 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2098 | $28,489 |
| Did not complete | 1468 | $21,229 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $338.76/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Towson.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3476 | $24,236 |
| No Stafford loan | 90 | $21,158 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3177 | $24,713 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 389 | $21,294 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Towson.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Towson follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3521 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,616 |
| Middle income | $16,018 |
| High income | $15,370 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $17,283 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Towson.
The Difference Between 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.