by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Western Carolina University: 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.
Among first-year students at WCU, 58% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $5,974 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,521, equal to roughly 82.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at WCU (freshmen included), 45% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $5,619 a year. That amounts to 24.3% more than the freshman federal average of $4,521.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,238 after two years and $22,476 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,619 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 4,421 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $24,840,766 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at WCU carry a median federal debt of $15,348 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,348 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,868 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for WCU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,998 |
| 75th percentile | $25,983 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,249 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at WCU.
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 WCU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1880 | $14,645 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1214 | $18,241 |
| Did not complete | 666 | $11,838 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $216.9/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at WCU.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1857 | $14,857 |
| No Stafford loan | 23 | $10,971 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1729 | $15,050 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 151 | $11,542 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at WCU.
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 WCU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2068 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,731 |
| Middle income | $16,180 |
| High income | $15,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,864 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,966 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,796 |
| Independent students | $14,139 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at WCU.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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?
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.