by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At WSU Tech specifically, 29% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $6,360 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,616. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at WSU Tech, 34% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $6,896 in federal loans per year. This works out to 22.8% higher than the first-year federal average of $5,616.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,792 in two years and roughly $27,584 after four. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 34% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,896 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 942 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,496,149 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at WSU Tech carry a median federal debt of $6,650 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,650 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.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 WSU Tech.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,914 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $12,471 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,377 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at WSU Tech.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for WSU Tech.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 200 | $8,452 |
| Completed (graduates) | 82 | $8,997 |
| Did not complete | 118 | $7,613 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $106.98/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 WSU Tech.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 118 | $7,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 82 | $9,757 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for WSU Tech.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for WSU Tech follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 723 |
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 | $7,500 |
| Middle income | $7,018 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,633 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,002 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at WSU Tech.
Subsidized vs. 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.