by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of Washington-Tacoma Campus, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at UW Tacoma, 24% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,672 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,471, or about 81.3% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at UW Tacoma (freshmen included), 27% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $6,068 each per year. This works out to 35.7% higher than the $4,471 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,136 over two years and about $24,272 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 27% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,068 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,096 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,650,619 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UW Tacoma carry a median federal debt of $12,375 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,375 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,615 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,413 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UW Tacoma.
| 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 gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UW Tacoma.
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 UW Tacoma.
| 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.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UW Tacoma.
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 |
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 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UW Tacoma.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UW Tacoma appears below.
| 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 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,696 |
| Independent students | $14,204 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UW Tacoma.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Worth Knowing
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.