by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Arkansas at Monticello— 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 UAM, 42% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $5,121 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,005, or about 91.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at UAM, 48% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $7,401 a year. That is 47.9% greater than the $5,005 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,802 across two years and $29,604 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 48% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,401 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 914 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,764,282 |
The median student at UAM borrows $11,364 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,364 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,971 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,673 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UAM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,684 |
| 25th percentile | $3,750 |
| 75th percentile | $16,126 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,737 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UAM.
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 UAM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 222 | $7,460 |
| Completed (graduates) | 52 | $8,108 |
| Did not complete | 170 | $6,922 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $96.41/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UAM.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 171 | $6,715 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 51 | $12,417 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UAM.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UAM appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1173 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,179 |
| Middle income | $11,828 |
| High income | $11,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,338 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,967 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UAM.
Subsidized vs. 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?
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.