by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Missouri-Kansas City, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at UMKC, 37% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $6,949 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,089, or about 92.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at UMKC, 37% rely on federal student loans toward their education, for a typical $8,883 per year. It comes to 74.6% higher than the $5,089 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $17,766 in two years and roughly $35,532 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,883 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,423 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $21,524,347 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UMKC carry a median federal debt of $14,835 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,835 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UMKC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,504 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,200 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UMKC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UMKC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1638 | $17,330 |
| Completed (graduates) | 892 | $18,462 |
| Did not complete | 746 | $16,031 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $219.53/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 UMKC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1605 | $17,372 |
| No Stafford loan | 33 | $16,208 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1355 | $17,189 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 283 | $18,963 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. UMKC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UMKC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3229 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,750 |
| Middle income | $14,000 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,900 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,511 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UMKC.
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.