by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend University of West Georgia: 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.
Among first-year students at University of West Georgia, 41% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, with a typical loan of $6,183 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,256, or about 95.6% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. 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 University of West Georgia, freshmen included, 39% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,161 a year. It comes to 17.2% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,256.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,322 in two years and roughly $24,644 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,161 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,925 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $18,020,562 |
The middle borrower at University of West Georgia owes $15,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,970 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for University of West Georgia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,000 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,250 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at University of West Georgia.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for University of West Georgia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2479 | $12,942 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1294 | $15,047 |
| Did not complete | 1185 | $11,029 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $178.92/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at University of West Georgia.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2435 | $13,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 44 | $10,183 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2266 | $12,972 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 213 | $12,530 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. University of West Georgia.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for University of West Georgia is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2665 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,750 |
| Middle income | $15,500 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,112 |
| Independent students | $13,040 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at University of West Georgia.
Subsidized and 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
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.