by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Memphis— 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.
At UofM, 47% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $5,633 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $4,986, which is 90.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at UofM, 47% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,705 in federal loans per year. This works out to 34.5% above the $4,986 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,410 in two years and roughly $26,820 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,705 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,355 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $42,610,673 |
The middle borrower at UofM owes $15,809 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,809 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,300 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at UofM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,056 |
| 75th percentile | $30,864 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UofM.
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 UofM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2240 | $14,225 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1155 | $15,393 |
| Did not complete | 1085 | $13,100 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $183.04/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 UofM.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2205 | $14,211 |
| No Stafford loan | 35 | $15,883 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1954 | $14,016 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 286 | $15,387 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UofM.
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 UofM is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5073 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,500 |
| Middle income | $15,000 |
| High income | $14,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,743 |
| Independent students | $19,585 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UofM.
The Difference Between 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.
Did You Know?
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.