by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend University of Wisconsin-Stout, 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 - Stout, 58% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $8,488 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,127, amounting to 93.2% 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.
For undergraduates overall at UW - Stout, 50% take out federal student loans, averaging $6,142 annually. This is 19.8% greater than the $5,127 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,284 by year two and around $24,568 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,142 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,923 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,953,431 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UW - Stout carry a median federal debt of $16,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,250 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for UW - Stout.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UW - Stout.
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 - Stout.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 597 | $10,250 |
| Completed (graduates) | 301 | $11,000 |
| Did not complete | 296 | $10,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $130.8/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UW - Stout.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 587 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 492 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 105 | $12,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UW - Stout.
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 - Stout is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2317 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,118 |
| Middle income | $16,452 |
| High income | $16,185 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,750 |
| Independent students | $16,848 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UW - Stout.
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.