by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global: 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.
Among first-year students at IWU, 63% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $5,577 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $5,519. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at IWU, 55% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $7,030 a year. This works out to 27.4% higher than the $5,519 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,060 over two years and about $28,120 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,030 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,186 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $22,397,136 |
The median student at IWU borrows $14,335 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,335 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,250 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at IWU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,304 |
| 25th percentile | $5,955 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at IWU.
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 IWU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1809 | $11,850 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1073 | $12,987 |
| Did not complete | 736 | $9,885 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $154.43/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at IWU.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1795 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1594 | $11,875 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 215 | $11,745 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for IWU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for IWU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5769 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,044 |
| Middle income | $17,104 |
| High income | $17,747 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,369 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,795 |
| Independent students | $14,250 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at IWU.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.