by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Walsh College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For undergraduates overall at Walsh, 50% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $8,856 annually.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $17,712 after two years and $35,424 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,856 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 279 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,470,783 |
The median student at Walsh borrows $12,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $16,217 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,910 |
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 Walsh.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,300 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $20,796 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,539 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Walsh.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Walsh.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 297 | $12,941 |
| Completed (graduates) | 162 | $14,078 |
| Did not complete | 135 | $11,529 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $167.4/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 Walsh.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 207 | $11,566 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 90 | $15,158 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Walsh.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Walsh appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 955 |
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 | $13,500 |
| Middle income | $12,500 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,535 |
| Independent students | $14,752 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Walsh.
The Difference Between 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.