by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Texas Christian University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At TCU specifically, 27% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $14,942 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,103, amounting to 92.8% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
For undergraduates overall at TCU, 25% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, with a mean of $6,424 each per year. That is 25.9% higher than the $5,103 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,848 across two years and $25,696 across a four-year program. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 25% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,424 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,738 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,588,526 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at TCU carry a median federal debt of $19,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,500 |
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 TCU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $26,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at TCU.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at TCU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 839 | $48,156 |
| Completed (graduates) | 658 | $54,925 |
| Did not complete | 181 | $31,429 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $653.12/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at TCU.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 804 | $46,957 |
| No Stafford loan | 35 | $58,870 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 737 | $50,531 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 102 | $28,300 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at TCU.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for TCU appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1347 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $20,000 |
| Middle income | $18,959 |
| High income | $18,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,500 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at TCU.
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.