by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Walden University: 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.
At Walden University, 33% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $905 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $905, representing 16.5% 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Walden University, 69% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $7,836 annually. That is 765.9% more than the freshman federal average of $905.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $15,672 in two years and roughly $31,344 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 69% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,836 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 5,065 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $39,691,163 |
The median student at Walden University borrows $11,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,834 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,200 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Walden University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,166 |
| 25th percentile | $4,424 |
| 75th percentile | $27,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,750 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Walden University.
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 Walden University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 7895 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 3547 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 4348 | $10,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $118.91/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 Walden University.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 7880 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 15 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 5841 | $10,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 2054 | $10,360 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Walden University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Walden University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 15848 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $10,500 |
| Middle income | $12,500 |
| High income | $12,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,276 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,167 |
| Independent students | $12,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Walden University.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.