by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Wesleyan College: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Wesleyan College, 54% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $4,632 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $4,329, representing 78.7% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Wesleyan College, freshmen included, 55% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,725 a year. This is 55.3% greater than the first-year federal average of $4,329.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,450 after two years and $26,900 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,725 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 256 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,721,490 |
The middle borrower at Wesleyan College owes $15,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,094 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Wesleyan College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,927 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Wesleyan College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Wesleyan College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 81 | $9,056 |
| Completed (graduates) | 29 | $16,279 |
| Did not complete | 52 | $8,977 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $193.57/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 Wesleyan College.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 64 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 17 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Wesleyan College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Wesleyan College follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 216 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,425 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $12,925 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,613 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,500 |
| Independent students | $23,555 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Wesleyan College.
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
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.