by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Wenatchee Valley College: 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.
For incoming students at WVC, 8% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $5,877 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $5,948. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at WVC, 7% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,463 annually. This is 8.7% more than the first-year federal average of $5,948.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,926 after two years and $25,852 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 7% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,463 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 116 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $749,693 |
The middle borrower at WVC owes $7,046 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $7,046 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $10,332 |
| 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Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 WVC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,491 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,677 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at WVC.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for WVC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 90 | $12,296 |
| Completed (graduates) | 26 | $13,905 |
| Did not complete | 64 | $12,201 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $165.35/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 WVC.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 22 | $10,269 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 68 | $12,850 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. WVC.
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 WVC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 18.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 540 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,903 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at WVC.
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.