by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Washington-Seattle Campus: 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.
Looking at the entering class at UW Seattle, 19% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $7,651 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,775, or about 86.8% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at UW Seattle, freshmen included, 19% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $5,784 per year. It comes to 21.1% larger than the first-year federal average of $4,775.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,568 after two years and $23,136 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 19% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,784 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 5,881 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $34,014,011 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UW Seattle 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 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UW Seattle.
| 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 Seattle.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UW Seattle.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 4099 | $23,304 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2704 | $24,883 |
| Did not complete | 1395 | $20,157 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $295.89/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 UW Seattle.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3988 | $23,504 |
| No Stafford loan | 111 | $20,963 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3406 | $24,008 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 693 | $20,099 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UW Seattle.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UW Seattle follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 7728 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,184 |
| Middle income | $11,667 |
| High income | $12,851 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| 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 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UW Seattle.
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
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.