by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Washington State College of Ohio: 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.
At WSCC specifically, 40% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $6,076 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,076. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at WSCC, freshmen included, 32% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $5,862 each per year. That amounts to 3.5% smaller than the $6,076 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $11,724 over two years and about $23,448 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,862 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 345 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,022,448 |
The middle borrower at WSCC owes $6,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at WSCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,849 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $13,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,689 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at WSCC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for WSCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 73 | $9,203 |
| Completed (graduates) | 23 | $10,906 |
| Did not complete | 50 | $9,012 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $129.68/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at WSCC.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 33 | $5,854 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 40 | $11,530 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. WSCC.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for WSCC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 505 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,042 |
| Middle income | $6,500 |
| High income | $8,450 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $8,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at WSCC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
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.