by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Central Wyoming College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At CWC, 21% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $4,161 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,161, amounting to 75.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at CWC, freshmen included, 20% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $5,326 each per year. That amounts to 28.0% larger than the freshman federal average of $4,161.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $10,652 in two years and roughly $21,304 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 20% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,326 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 204 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,086,490 |
The median student at CWC borrows $5,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $5,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $8,361 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,000 |
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 CWC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,634 |
| 25th percentile | $2,626 |
| 75th percentile | $9,513 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $15,072 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at CWC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for CWC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 63 | $9,142 |
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 CWC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 19 | $7,420 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 44 | $11,978 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at CWC.
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 CWC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 289 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,200 |
| Middle income | $5,850 |
| High income | $5,591 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,775 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,715 |
| Independent students | $6,524 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at CWC.
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.
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.