by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Pennsylvania Western University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Pennsylvania Western University, 69% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $8,151 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,252, which is 95.5% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at Pennsylvania Western University, 61% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $6,172 in federal loans per year. It comes to 17.5% greater than the first-year federal average of $5,252.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,344 after two years and $24,688 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 61% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,172 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,982 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $30,748,608 |
The median student at Pennsylvania Western University borrows $16,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,725 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,750 |
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 Pennsylvania Western University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,723 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Pennsylvania Western University.
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 Pennsylvania Western University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1514 | $16,131 |
| Completed (graduates) | 753 | $17,794 |
| Did not complete | 761 | $15,250 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $211.59/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Pennsylvania Western University.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1247 | $16,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 267 | $16,744 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Pennsylvania Western University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Pennsylvania Western University is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2933 |
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 | $16,750 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $16,228 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,463 |
| Independent students | $15,743 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Pennsylvania Western University.
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?
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.