by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: 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.
Among first-year students at UMN Twin Cities, 39% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $10,893 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,310, representing 96.5% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at UMN Twin Cities (freshmen included), 37% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $6,217 each per year. This is 17.1% above the first-year federal average of $5,310.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,434 after two years and $24,868 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 | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,217 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 11,187 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $69,551,194 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UMN Twin Cities carry a median federal debt of $16,727 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,727 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,249 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UMN Twin Cities.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,374 |
| 75th percentile | $25,182 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,795 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UMN Twin Cities.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UMN Twin Cities.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 4753 | $22,910 |
| Completed (graduates) | 3412 | $25,729 |
| Did not complete | 1341 | $19,097 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $305.95/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UMN Twin Cities.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 4684 | $22,919 |
| No Stafford loan | 69 | $22,808 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 4286 | $23,020 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 467 | $21,442 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UMN Twin Cities.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UMN Twin Cities appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 8975 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,990 |
| Middle income | $15,669 |
| High income | $17,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,180 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,018 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,500 |
| Independent students | $18,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UMN Twin Cities.
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.