by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Welch College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Welch, 87% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $5,717 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,346, which is 97.2% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Welch, 73% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,388 a year. This works out to 19.5% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,346.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,776 by year two and around $25,552 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 73% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,388 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 190 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,213,676 |
The middle borrower at Welch owes $11,375 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,375 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,210 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Welch.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,000 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,156 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Welch.
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 Welch.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 38 | $14,706 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Welch.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Welch is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 94 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,000 |
| Middle income | $11,818 |
| High income | $11,599 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,697 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Welch.
The Difference Between 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?
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.