by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of New Mexico-Gallup Campus: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at UNM Gallup, 4% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $4,608 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,608, equal to roughly 83.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at UNM Gallup, 20% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $2,428 each per year. That amounts to 47.3% under the $4,608 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $4,856 in two years and roughly $9,712 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 20% |
| Average federal loan per year | $2,428 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 179 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $434,544 |
The middle borrower at UNM Gallup owes $13,698 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $13,698 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,450 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,322 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UNM Gallup.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,820 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UNM Gallup.
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 UNM Gallup.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 879 | $12,107 |
| Completed (graduates) | 412 | $13,000 |
| Did not complete | 467 | $11,337 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $154.58/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 UNM Gallup.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 858 | $12,053 |
| No Stafford loan | 21 | $12,781 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 607 | $10,500 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 272 | $15,155 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UNM Gallup.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UNM Gallup follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 4873 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,250 |
| Middle income | $13,238 |
| High income | $13,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,097 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $18,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UNM Gallup.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.