by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Vermont: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at UVM, 47% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $10,037 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,094, which is 92.6% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at UVM, 39% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,075 a year. That is 19.3% larger than the $5,094 typical freshmen borrow.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,150 across two years and $24,300 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,075 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,539 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $27,574,616 |
The middle borrower at UVM owes $17,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,951 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 UVM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,758 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UVM.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UVM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1233 | $36,096 |
| Completed (graduates) | 815 | $48,000 |
| Did not complete | 418 | $25,936 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $570.77/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UVM.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1214 | $36,458 |
| No Stafford loan | 19 | $25,056 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1067 | $39,735 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 166 | $21,452 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UVM.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UVM follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2353 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,417 |
| Middle income | $18,048 |
| High income | $17,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,000 |
| Independent students | $12,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UVM.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.