by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Temple University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Temple, 59% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $10,640 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,193, which is 94.4% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Temple, 55% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $6,532 in federal loans per year. This is 25.8% above the $5,193 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $13,064 over two years and about $26,128 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 55% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,532 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 11,581 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $75,649,463 |
The middle borrower at Temple owes $19,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,395 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,996 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Temple.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,000 |
| 75th percentile | $28,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,458 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Temple.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Temple.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 5154 | $31,453 |
| Completed (graduates) | 3497 | $36,495 |
| Did not complete | 1657 | $24,304 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $433.96/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Temple.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 5087 | $31,500 |
| No Stafford loan | 67 | $24,708 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 4667 | $32,145 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 487 | $24,269 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Temple.
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 Temple appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 8524 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,500 |
| Middle income | $20,000 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,248 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $22,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Temple.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.