by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Maryland Global Campus: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at UMGC, 22% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $6,142 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $6,054. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at UMGC, 18% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $7,805 per year. This works out to 28.9% higher than the $6,054 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $15,610 by year two and around $31,220 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 18% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,805 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 8,872 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $69,248,464 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UMGC carry a median federal debt of $10,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 UMGC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,724 |
| 25th percentile | $4,904 |
| 75th percentile | $21,823 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UMGC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UMGC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 6509 | $12,674 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1610 | $13,964 |
| Did not complete | 4899 | $12,450 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $166.05/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 UMGC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 6367 | $12,823 |
| No Stafford loan | 142 | $9,479 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2958 | $13,278 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 3551 | $12,361 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UMGC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UMGC is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 8203 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $11,698 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,500 |
| Independent students | $11,158 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UMGC.
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.
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.