by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Johnson & Wales University-Online, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at JWU Online, 70% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $8,656 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $8,656. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at JWU Online, 52% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $9,179 in federal loans per year. That is 6.0% above the $8,656 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $18,358 in two years and roughly $36,716 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $9,179 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,020 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,362,817 |
The middle borrower at JWU Online owes $16,334 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,334 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for JWU Online.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,666 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,300 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,750 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at JWU Online.
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 JWU Online.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3594 | $25,707 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1686 | $34,260 |
| Did not complete | 1908 | $21,477 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $407.39/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 JWU Online.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3556 | $25,978 |
| No Stafford loan | 38 | $10,075 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3440 | $26,158 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 154 | $15,441 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. JWU Online.
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 JWU Online is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5362 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,250 |
| Middle income | $18,277 |
| High income | $14,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,666 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,502 |
| Independent students | $15,482 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at JWU Online.
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.
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.