by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at UMass Dartmouth, 76% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $7,552 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,126, which is 93.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at UMass Dartmouth (freshmen included), 68% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,289 each per year. That amounts to 22.7% greater than the $5,126 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,578 over two years and about $25,156 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 68% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,289 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,604 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $22,666,272 |
The middle borrower at UMass Dartmouth owes $18,133 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,133 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at UMass Dartmouth.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,423 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UMass Dartmouth.
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 UMass Dartmouth.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1084 | $18,589 |
| Completed (graduates) | 587 | $22,757 |
| Did not complete | 497 | $15,747 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $270.6/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UMass Dartmouth.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1067 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 922 | $18,821 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 162 | $17,266 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. UMass Dartmouth.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UMass Dartmouth appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2149 |
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 | $17,500 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $17,437 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,279 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,000 |
| Independent students | $18,305 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UMass Dartmouth.
Subsidized and 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.
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.