by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Waynesburg 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 Waynesburg, 81% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $7,910 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,280, equal to roughly 96.0% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Waynesburg, 74% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $6,568 annually. It comes to 24.4% above the $5,280 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,136 by year two and around $26,272 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 74% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,568 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 803 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,274,220 |
The middle borrower at Waynesburg owes $21,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $21,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
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 Waynesburg.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $9,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Waynesburg.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Waynesburg.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 307 | $20,738 |
| Completed (graduates) | 195 | $30,400 |
| Did not complete | 112 | $14,377 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $361.49/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 Waynesburg.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 277 | $20,781 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 30 | $19,329 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Waynesburg.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Waynesburg appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 731 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,532 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $21,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,675 |
| Independent students | $20,341 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Waynesburg.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
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.