Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Student Debt & Borrowing

Below is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 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.

Freshman Loans
Average Undergraduate Loans
How Much Students Borrow
How Debt Is Distributed
Total Borrowing Including PLUS Loans
Borrowing by Loan Type
Repayment Burden
Student Loan Default Rates
Who Borrows the Most
Debt Equity Indicators
Understanding Student Loans
References

Freshman Loans at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

At SMWC specifically, 57% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $9,362 per student, private and federal loans combined.

The typical federal loan comes to $8,507. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.

Average Undergraduate Loans at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

For undergraduates overall at SMWC, 49% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $7,837 per year. That amounts to 7.9% lower than the $8,507 borrowed by freshmen.

Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $15,674 by year two and around $31,348 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.

Undergraduate federal borrowing	Value
Share using federal loans	49%
Average federal loan per year	$7,837
Undergraduates with a federal loan	434
Total federal loans (one year)	$3,401,474

Typical Student Debt at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

The median student at SMWC borrows $13,600 in federal student loans.

Borrower group	Median federal debt
All federal borrowers	$13,600
Students who completed (graduates)	$19,512
Students who withdrew	$6,550

Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.

Debt Spread by Percentile

The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for SMWC.

Percentile	Cumulative Federal Debt
10th percentile (lowest-debt students)	$2,750
25th percentile	$5,500
75th percentile	$25,300
90th percentile (highest-debt students)	$35,222

The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at SMWC.

Borrowing Including Parent and Grad PLUS Loans at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

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 SMWC.

Group	Borrowers	Median debt incl. PLUS
All borrowers	164	$15,081
Completed (graduates)	108	$19,094
Did not complete	56	$11,011

Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $227.05/mo.

Borrowing by Loan Type at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at SMWC.

Stafford This Year vs Not

Cohort	Borrowers	Median debt incl. PLUS
Stafford loan this year	152	—
No Stafford loan this year	12	—

Repayment Burden at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for SMWC.

Estimated standard 10-year payment: $206.86/mo assuming the standard 10-year federal plan
Composite burden indicator: Low ($10-20k)
Debt spread across cohorts: approximately $32,472 between the lowest- and highest-debt typical-borrower cohort

How Often Borrowers Default at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for SMWC follows.

Metric	Value
2-year cohort default rate	3.9%
Borrowers in the cohort	434

This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.

Median Debt by Student Group at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.

Median Debt by Income Bracket

Income tier	Median federal debt
Low income	$12,209
Middle income	$14,950
High income	$15,250

First-Generation Comparison

Cohort	Median federal debt
First-generation students	$13,149
Continuing-generation students	$15,251

Dependent vs Independent Borrowers

Cohort	Median federal debt
Dependent students	$14,750
Independent students	$13,350

Debt Equity Indicators at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at SMWC.

Difference in debt for Pell recipients: $-1,332
Difference for first-generation students: $-2,102
Income-tier debt gap: $-3,041
Gender debt differential: $5,988

Student Loan Basics

The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.

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.

Official Links and Resources

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.