by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of New Hampshire-Main Campus, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at UNH, 59% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $10,906 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,260, amounting to 95.6% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at UNH, 57% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, for a typical $6,539 each per year. This is 24.3% higher than the $5,260 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,078 across two years and $26,156 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 57% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,539 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,449 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $42,169,967 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UNH carry a median federal debt of $22,498 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $22,498 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,814 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UNH.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UNH.
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 UNH.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1648 | $30,725 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1106 | $36,545 |
| Did not complete | 542 | $24,555 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $434.56/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UNH.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1637 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1451 | $32,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 197 | $20,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. UNH.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UNH is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3729 |
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 | $22,704 |
| Middle income | $22,997 |
| High income | $21,801 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,580 |
| Continuing-generation students | $22,125 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,542 |
| Independent students | $20,200 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UNH.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
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.