by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at UW - Whitewater, 55% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $6,552 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,950, which is 90.0% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at UW - Whitewater, 49% take out federal student loans, at an average of $5,926 a year. This works out to 19.7% larger than the $4,950 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,852 across two years and $23,704 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,926 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,513 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $26,745,481 |
The middle borrower at UW - Whitewater owes $16,241 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,241 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $23,188 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
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 - Whitewater.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,250 |
| 25th percentile | $7,632 |
| 75th percentile | $27,873 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,059 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UW - Whitewater.
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 - Whitewater.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1135 | $16,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 685 | $18,635 |
| Did not complete | 450 | $12,842 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $221.59/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UW - Whitewater.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1118 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 990 | $16,341 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 145 | $12,319 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UW - Whitewater.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for UW - Whitewater appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2325 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,445 |
| Middle income | $16,400 |
| High income | $18,176 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,330 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,888 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,750 |
| Independent students | $13,856 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UW - Whitewater.
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.
Did You Know?
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.