by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Charleston, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At UC, 61% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,582 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,652. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at UC, 36% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $7,220 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 27.7% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,652.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,440 across two years and $28,880 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 36% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,220 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 740 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,342,703 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UC carry a median federal debt of $12,666 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,666 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $23,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UC.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 289 | $15,400 |
| Completed (graduates) | 159 | $18,300 |
| Did not complete | 130 | $12,708 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $217.61/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 UC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 227 | $15,433 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 62 | $14,657 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UC follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 444 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,999 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $13,242 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,000 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UC.
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?
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.