by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Wayne State College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At WSC, 48% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $5,712 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,866, or about 88.5% 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.
Counting every undergraduate at WSC, 42% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $5,774 annually. This is 18.7% more than the freshman federal average of $4,866.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,548 after two years and $23,096 by the fourth year. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 42% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,774 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,273 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,350,568 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at WSC carry a median federal debt of $12,240 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,240 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $19,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at WSC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $22,439 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,470 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at WSC.
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 WSC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 534 | $9,809 |
| Completed (graduates) | 195 | $10,888 |
| Did not complete | 339 | $9,300 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $129.47/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 WSC.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 432 | $9,557 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 102 | $10,692 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at WSC.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for WSC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 934 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $11,898 |
| Middle income | $11,969 |
| High income | $13,624 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $14,875 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at WSC.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Important to Remember
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.