by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Missouri-Columbia, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Mizzou, 45% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $9,014 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,309, amounting to 96.5% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at Mizzou (freshmen included), 36% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,243 a year. This is 17.6% more than the first-year federal average of $5,309.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,486 by year two and around $24,972 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 36% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,243 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 8,330 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $52,004,931 |
The median student at Mizzou borrows $16,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Mizzou.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Mizzou.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Mizzou.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3619 | $25,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2321 | $32,529 |
| Did not complete | 1298 | $18,765 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $386.8/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Mizzou.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3436 | $25,350 |
| No Stafford loan | 183 | $21,940 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2882 | $28,031 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 737 | $19,796 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Mizzou.
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 Mizzou appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4972 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $15,000 |
| Middle income | $15,750 |
| High income | $17,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,296 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,750 |
| Independent students | $14,408 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Mizzou.
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.
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.