by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Western Illinois University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at WIU, 29% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $7,773 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $6,244. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Looking at all undergraduates at WIU, freshmen included, 32% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $8,305 each per year. This is 33.0% above the $6,244 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $16,610 after two years and $33,220 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 | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,305 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,595 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $13,246,196 |
The median student at WIU borrows $19,762 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,762 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,251 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at WIU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,785 |
| 75th percentile | $28,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at WIU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for WIU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1008 | $17,806 |
| Completed (graduates) | 624 | $20,764 |
| Did not complete | 384 | $12,752 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $246.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at WIU.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 996 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 12 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 887 | $18,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 121 | $16,072 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at WIU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for WIU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3063 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $23,496 |
| Middle income | $20,350 |
| High income | $17,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,054 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $22,084 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at WIU.
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?
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.