by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Tulsa Welding School-Tulsa, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at TWS, 79% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $7,374 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,707. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at TWS, 71% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,130 per year. This works out to 8.6% smaller than the $6,707 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,260 by year two and around $24,520 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 71% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,130 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,125 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,896,400 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at TWS carry a median federal debt of $6,886 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,886 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
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 TWS.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,400 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at TWS.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for TWS.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1703 | $12,603 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1292 | $14,578 |
| Did not complete | 411 | $8,019 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $173.35/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 TWS.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1638 | $12,877 |
| No Stafford loan | 65 | $4,331 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1602 | $13,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 101 | $4,674 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. TWS.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for TWS is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1866 |
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 | $7,125 |
| Middle income | $6,310 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,018 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,145 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at TWS.
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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.