by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Wayne State University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Wayne State, 30% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $6,295 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,252, representing 95.5% 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 Wayne State, 39% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,948 each per year. That is 32.3% above the first-year federal average of $5,252.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,896 across two years and $27,792 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,948 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,069 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $42,170,218 |
The median student at Wayne State borrows $16,597 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,597 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,250 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,866 |
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 Wayne State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,668 |
| 75th percentile | $30,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $43,380 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Wayne State.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Wayne State.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2772 | $15,564 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1688 | $16,378 |
| Did not complete | 1084 | $14,613 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $194.75/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Wayne State.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2741 | $15,646 |
| No Stafford loan | 31 | $12,758 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2354 | $15,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 418 | $19,000 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Wayne State.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Wayne State is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 7179 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $18,125 |
| Middle income | $16,176 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,176 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,322 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $21,916 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Wayne State.
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.
Did You Know?
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.