by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Washington State University: 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 Wazzu specifically, 35% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $7,804 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $4,973, representing 90.4% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Wazzu, 31% take out federal student loans, for a typical $6,492 per year. That is 30.5% higher than the $4,973 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,984 after two years and $25,968 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 31% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,492 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,644 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $43,131,615 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Wazzu carry a median federal debt of $14,853 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,853 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
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 Wazzu.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,417 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Wazzu.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Wazzu.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3845 | $23,817 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2172 | $29,968 |
| Did not complete | 1673 | $20,490 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $356.35/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Wazzu.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3627 | $24,559 |
| No Stafford loan | 218 | $20,126 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3377 | $25,350 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 468 | $19,471 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Wazzu.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Wazzu follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5597 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $14,597 |
| Middle income | $14,750 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,930 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,702 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,115 |
| Independent students | $16,520 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Wazzu.
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
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.