by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Mary Washington— 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.
For incoming students at UMW, 33% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $8,577 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,117, equal to roughly 93.0% 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 UMW (freshmen included), 30% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $6,470 each per year. This works out to 26.4% larger than the $5,117 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,940 over two years and about $25,880 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 30% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,470 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,057 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,838,310 |
The median student at UMW borrows $16,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at UMW.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,250 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,735 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UMW.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UMW.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 410 | $21,217 |
| Completed (graduates) | 245 | $26,240 |
| Did not complete | 165 | $19,590 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $312.02/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UMW.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 392 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 18 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 349 | $21,265 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 61 | $20,571 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UMW.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UMW is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 802 |
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 | $17,000 |
| Middle income | $16,125 |
| High income | $15,700 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,927 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,500 |
| Independent students | $18,609 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UMW.
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
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.