by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Case Western Reserve University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Case Western, 66% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $6,816 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,296, representing 96.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at Case Western, 48% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,122 in federal loans per year. This works out to 15.6% larger than the freshman federal average of $5,296.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,244 in two years and roughly $24,488 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 48% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,122 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,933 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,956,266 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Case Western carry a median federal debt of $21,488 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,488 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Case Western.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,623 |
| 75th percentile | $29,937 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Case Western.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Case Western.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 894 | $29,461 |
| Completed (graduates) | 714 | $31,458 |
| Did not complete | 180 | $22,868 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $374.07/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Case Western.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 878 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 770 | $29,461 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 124 | $29,562 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Case Western.
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 Case Western appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1753 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,875 |
| Middle income | $22,783 |
| High income | $21,250 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,470 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,500 |
| Independent students | $15,388 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Case Western.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Did You Know?
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.