by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Western Connecticut State University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at WestConn, 58% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $6,677 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,256, or about 95.6% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at WestConn, 50% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $6,245 each per year. This works out to 18.8% more than the freshman federal average of $5,256.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,490 over two years and about $24,980 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,245 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,719 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,735,961 |
The median student at WestConn borrows $17,002 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,002 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,147 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 WestConn.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $6,808 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at WestConn.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for WestConn.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 731 | $18,367 |
| Completed (graduates) | 370 | $19,000 |
| Did not complete | 361 | $18,141 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $225.93/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at WestConn.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 658 | $18,041 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 73 | $24,943 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for WestConn.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for WestConn is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1552 |
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 | $18,661 |
| Middle income | $17,000 |
| High income | $15,750 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,501 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,407 |
| Independent students | $19,750 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at WestConn.
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.
Important to Remember
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.