by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Western Michigan 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.
At WMU, 52% of first-year students take on loan debt, at roughly $8,014 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,043, amounting to 91.7% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Counting every undergraduate at WMU, 48% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,565 annually. This is 30.2% above the freshman federal average of $5,043.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,130 after two years and $26,260 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 48% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,565 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,135 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $40,276,283 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at WMU carry a median federal debt of $20,115 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,115 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,188 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,780 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 WMU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,000 |
| 75th percentile | $30,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,400 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at WMU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for WMU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2688 | $19,438 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1601 | $22,488 |
| Did not complete | 1087 | $17,301 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $267.41/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 WMU.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2651 | $19,500 |
| No Stafford loan | 37 | $15,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2480 | $19,508 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 208 | $17,375 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at WMU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for WMU follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5192 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $22,526 |
| Middle income | $21,204 |
| High income | $19,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,976 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $24,951 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at WMU.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Worth Knowing
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.