by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Warren Wilson College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Warren Wilson, 56% of first-year students take on loan debt, for an average of $6,537 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,169, amounting to 94.0% 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at Warren Wilson (freshmen included), 54% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,219 each per year. That amounts to 20.3% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,169.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,438 after two years and $24,876 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 | 54% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,219 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 392 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,437,663 |
The median student at Warren Wilson borrows $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Warren Wilson.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $23,113 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Warren Wilson.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Warren Wilson.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 94 | $14,261 |
| Completed (graduates) | 31 | $21,294 |
| Did not complete | 63 | $11,240 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $253.21/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Warren Wilson.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Warren Wilson follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 252 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,000 |
| Middle income | $9,000 |
| High income | $9,353 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,478 |
| Independent students | $17,125 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Warren Wilson.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.