by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for William Woods University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at William Woods, 65% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $9,683 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $8,133. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at William Woods, 51% take out federal student loans, with a mean of $8,707 per year. This works out to 7.1% above the $8,133 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $17,414 over two years and about $34,828 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 51% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,707 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 542 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $4,719,464 |
The middle borrower at William Woods owes $14,425 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,425 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,983 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for William Woods.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,916 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,662 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at William Woods.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at William Woods.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 277 | $13,838 |
| Completed (graduates) | 196 | $13,469 |
| Did not complete | 81 | $14,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $160.16/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at William Woods.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 243 | $13,352 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 34 | $18,564 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at William Woods.
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 William Woods appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1126 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,683 |
| Middle income | $14,548 |
| High income | $15,010 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,120 |
| Independent students | $15,804 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at William Woods.
Subsidized vs. 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.
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.