by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Fort Lewis College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At FLC, 40% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $5,734 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,770, equal to roughly 86.7% 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.
Counting every undergraduate at FLC, 32% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $5,994 each per year. It comes to 25.7% more than the $4,770 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,988 across two years and $23,976 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,994 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 995 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,963,743 |
The median student at FLC borrows $9,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,389 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,905 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at FLC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $20,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,847 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at FLC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for FLC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 482 | $14,047 |
| Completed (graduates) | 188 | $21,062 |
| Did not complete | 294 | $12,795 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $250.45/mo.
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 FLC.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 457 | $14,345 |
| No Stafford loan | 25 | $12,896 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 437 | $14,210 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 45 | $13,296 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for FLC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for FLC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 836 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $9,818 |
| Middle income | $8,250 |
| High income | $8,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,795 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,008 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,250 |
| Independent students | $11,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at FLC.
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.
Important to Remember
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.