by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Gardner-Webb University: 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.
At Gardner - Webb specifically, 87% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $5,370 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $3,290, amounting to 59.8% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at Gardner - Webb, freshmen included, 47% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,947 per year. It comes to 111.2% more than the $3,290 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,894 over two years and about $27,788 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 47% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,947 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 868 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,030,151 |
The middle borrower at Gardner - Webb owes $16,453 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,453 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,222 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Gardner - Webb.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,847 |
| 25th percentile | $6,818 |
| 75th percentile | $26,697 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,899 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Gardner - Webb.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Gardner - Webb.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 628 | $15,918 |
| Completed (graduates) | 378 | $19,524 |
| Did not complete | 250 | $12,091 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $232.16/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Gardner - Webb.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 538 | $17,301 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 90 | $10,385 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Gardner - Webb.
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 Gardner - Webb is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1119 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,832 |
| Middle income | $18,129 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,482 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $19,549 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Gardner - Webb.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.