by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Western Oregon University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Western Oregon State College, 92% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $4,270 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $3,386, representing 61.6% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Western Oregon State College, 75% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $4,597 a year. This is 35.8% more than the $3,386 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $9,194 across two years and $18,388 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 75% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,597 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,465 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $11,330,526 |
The middle borrower at Western Oregon State College owes $15,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,609 |
| 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Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 Western Oregon State College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,666 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,858 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Western Oregon State College.
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 Western Oregon State College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 742 | $18,815 |
| Completed (graduates) | 392 | $23,014 |
| Did not complete | 350 | $16,261 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $273.66/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Western Oregon State College.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 655 | $18,735 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 87 | $19,675 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Western Oregon State College.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Western Oregon State College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1350 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,274 |
| Middle income | $14,500 |
| High income | $14,140 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,400 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,000 |
| Independent students | $19,902 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Western Oregon State College.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.