by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Washington-Bothell Campus: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at UW Bothell, 22% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,482 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,376, equal to roughly 79.6% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at UW Bothell, 20% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $5,574 annually. This works out to 27.4% more than the first-year federal average of $4,376.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,148 over two years and about $22,296 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 20% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,574 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,044 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,818,849 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UW Bothell carry a median federal debt of $12,375 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,375 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,615 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,413 |
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 UW Bothell.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,122 |
| 25th percentile | $6,037 |
| 75th percentile | $21,566 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at UW Bothell.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UW Bothell.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 4099 | $23,304 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2704 | $24,883 |
| Did not complete | 1395 | $20,157 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $295.89/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UW Bothell.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3988 | $23,504 |
| No Stafford loan | 111 | $20,963 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3406 | $24,008 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 693 | $20,099 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. UW Bothell.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UW Bothell follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 7728 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,184 |
| Middle income | $11,667 |
| High income | $12,851 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,055 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,696 |
| Independent students | $14,204 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UW Bothell.
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.
Important to Remember
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.