by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Arizona Western College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at AWC, 0% of first-year students take on loan debt.
Looking at all undergraduates at AWC, freshmen included, 1% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $5,213 annually.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,426 over two years and about $20,852 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 1% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,213 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 38 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $198,101 |
The median student at AWC borrows $4,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $4,826 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,084 |
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 AWC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,249 |
| 25th percentile | $2,100 |
| 75th percentile | $7,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $12,750 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at AWC.
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 AWC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 172 | $8,721 |
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 AWC.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 153 | $8,300 |
| No Stafford loan | 19 | $10,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 12 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 160 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at AWC.
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 AWC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 17.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 468 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,500 |
| Middle income | $4,500 |
| High income | $2,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $3,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,433 |
| Independent students | $5,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for AWC.
The Difference Between 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.
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.