by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Maryland, Baltimore: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Across the full undergraduate body at UMB (freshmen included), 21% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $7,462 per year.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,924 by year two and around $29,848 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,462 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 200 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,492,474 |
The middle borrower at UMB owes $15,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,070 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 UMB.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,357 |
| 25th percentile | $9,279 |
| 75th percentile | $22,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UMB.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UMB.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 711 | $25,355 |
| Completed (graduates) | 574 | $27,234 |
| Did not complete | 137 | $19,257 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $323.84/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 UMB.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 537 | $26,750 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 174 | $21,105 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UMB.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for UMB appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 1.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1592 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,241 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $13,338 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,000 |
| Independent students | $19,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UMB.
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?
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.