by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Washington and Lee University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Washington and Lee specifically, 16% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $9,917 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,928, amounting to 89.6% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at Washington and Lee, freshmen included, 15% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $5,892 per year. This is 19.6% more than the first-year federal average of $4,928.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,784 across two years and $23,568 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 | 15% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,892 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 275 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,620,372 |
The middle borrower at Washington and Lee owes $16,617 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,617 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $15,420 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Washington and Lee.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,302 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Washington and Lee.
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 Washington and Lee.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 175 | $39,008 |
| Completed (graduates) | 113 | $38,000 |
| Did not complete | 62 | $39,960 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $451.86/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 Washington and Lee.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 159 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 158 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 17 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Washington and Lee.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Washington and Lee follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 267 |
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 |
|---|---|
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,835 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,105 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Washington and Lee.
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?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.