by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend William Penn University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
For incoming students at William Penn University, 94% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $7,705 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,391, which is 98.0% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Across the full undergraduate body at William Penn University (freshmen included), 90% finance part of their studies with federal loans, borrowing on average $6,907 in federal loans per year. That amounts to 28.1% higher than the $5,391 borrowed by freshmen.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $13,814 after two years and $27,628 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 90% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,907 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,264 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $8,730,585 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at William Penn University carry a median federal debt of $12,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,415 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,858 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for William Penn University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,600 |
| 25th percentile | $5,950 |
| 75th percentile | $25,563 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,889 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at William Penn University.
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 William Penn University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 353 | $11,657 |
| Completed (graduates) | 137 | $15,943 |
| Did not complete | 216 | $9,898 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $189.58/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 William Penn University.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 342 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 321 | $11,800 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 32 | $10,000 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for William Penn University.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for William Penn University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 739 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $11,844 |
| High income | $12,039 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,337 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,274 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $19,594 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at William Penn University.
Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.