by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for William & Mary: 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.
Looking at the entering class at William & Mary, 24% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $9,875 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,114, amounting to 93.0% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at William & Mary (freshmen included), 22% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,115 annually. That amounts to 19.6% above the first-year federal average of $5,114.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,230 after two years and $24,460 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 22% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,115 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,510 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,234,017 |
The median student at William & Mary borrows $15,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,685 |
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 William & Mary.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,967 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,250 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at William & Mary.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at William & Mary.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 541 | $29,096 |
| Completed (graduates) | 447 | $30,326 |
| Did not complete | 94 | $23,750 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $360.61/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at William & Mary.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 527 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 441 | $31,205 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 100 | $23,750 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. William & Mary.
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 William & Mary follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1119 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $11,250 |
| Middle income | $15,110 |
| High income | $16,750 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,500 |
| Independent students | $15,066 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at William & Mary.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.