by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for LeTourneau 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 LETU, 55% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $9,812 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,323, or about 96.8% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at LETU, 50% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $7,207 each per year. This works out to 35.4% above the first-year federal average of $5,323.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $14,414 over two years and about $28,828 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 50% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,207 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 773 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,571,303 |
The middle borrower at LETU owes $19,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at LETU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $7,959 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,959 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at LETU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for LETU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 199 | $20,550 |
| Completed (graduates) | 99 | $24,703 |
| Did not complete | 100 | $19,779 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $293.74/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 LETU.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 182 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 17 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. LETU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for LETU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1275 |
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 | $17,972 |
| Middle income | $20,834 |
| High income | $18,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,625 |
| Independent students | $24,000 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at LETU.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.