by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Massachusetts-Lowell, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At UMass Lowell, 65% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $7,177 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,013, equal to roughly 91.1% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at UMass Lowell, 55% take out federal student loans, averaging $6,087 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 21.4% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,013.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,174 in two years and roughly $24,348 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 | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,087 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,430 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $39,137,077 |
The median student at UMass Lowell borrows $18,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,704 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UMass Lowell.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,654 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,400 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UMass Lowell.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UMass Lowell.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1859 | $18,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 973 | $18,400 |
| Did not complete | 886 | $17,777 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $218.8/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UMass Lowell.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1838 | $18,008 |
| No Stafford loan | 21 | $15,560 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1243 | $15,707 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 616 | $22,569 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UMass Lowell.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UMass Lowell appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2511 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,500 |
| Middle income | $18,629 |
| High income | $17,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,750 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UMass Lowell.
The Difference Between 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.
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.