by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Drexel University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Drexel, 59% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $11,386 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,213, or about 94.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year 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.
Counting every undergraduate at Drexel, 49% borrow through federal student loan programs, at an average of $6,430 annually. It comes to 23.3% greater than the $5,213 freshmen take on.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,860 by year two and around $25,720 after four. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 49% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,430 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,702 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $43,095,810 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Drexel carry a median federal debt of $20,204 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $20,204 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,325 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Drexel.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,157 |
| 25th percentile | $9,800 |
| 75th percentile | $30,125 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,998 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Drexel.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Drexel.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2981 | $35,075 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2021 | $40,932 |
| Did not complete | 960 | $26,500 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $486.73/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Drexel.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2958 | $35,134 |
| No Stafford loan | 23 | $32,571 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2484 | $38,959 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 497 | $21,319 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Drexel.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Drexel appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5619 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
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 | $19,039 |
| Middle income | $21,369 |
| High income | $20,296 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,550 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,500 |
| Independent students | $16,559 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Drexel.
The Difference Between 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.
Worth Knowing
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.