by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Lehigh University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Lehigh, 44% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $10,642 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,047, which is 91.8% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at Lehigh (freshmen included), 37% take out federal student loans, for a typical $5,915 per year. It comes to 17.2% greater than the $5,047 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $11,830 across two years and $23,660 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 | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,915 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,125 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $12,570,104 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Lehigh carry a median federal debt of $19,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,960 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,289 |
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 Lehigh.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,550 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Lehigh.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Lehigh.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 353 | $33,988 |
| Completed (graduates) | 255 | $42,245 |
| Did not complete | 98 | $19,825 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $502.34/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Lehigh.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 339 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 254 | $36,322 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 99 | $27,248 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Lehigh.
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 Lehigh is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 838 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,074 |
| Middle income | $18,368 |
| High income | $21,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,495 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,797 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $8,417 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Lehigh.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Did You Know?
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.