by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Southern Maine: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At University of Southern Maine specifically, 53% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $8,057 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,099, amounting to 92.7% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at University of Southern Maine, 45% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,427 annually. It comes to 26.0% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,099.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,854 in two years and roughly $25,708 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,427 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,915 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,306,860 |
The middle borrower at University of Southern Maine owes $12,887 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,887 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,060 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
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 University of Southern Maine.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,751 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,750 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at University of Southern Maine.
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 University of Southern Maine.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1094 | $15,833 |
| Completed (graduates) | 526 | $17,050 |
| Did not complete | 568 | $14,786 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $202.74/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at University of Southern Maine.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1083 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 753 | $15,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 341 | $18,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at University of Southern Maine.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for University of Southern Maine follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2276 |
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 | $13,665 |
| Middle income | $13,001 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,767 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $15,768 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at University of Southern Maine.
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.
Did You Know?
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.