by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Texas Lutheran University— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At TLU specifically, 82% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, averaging $7,584 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $5,582. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at TLU, 63% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $7,111 in federal loans per year. It comes to 27.4% above the $5,582 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,222 by year two and around $28,444 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,111 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 798 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,674,274 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at TLU carry a median federal debt of $14,315 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,315 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
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 TLU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,335 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at TLU.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for TLU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 238 | $15,178 |
| Completed (graduates) | 127 | $21,678 |
| Did not complete | 111 | $12,517 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $257.77/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for TLU.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for TLU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 408 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,000 |
| Middle income | $14,750 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,813 |
| Independent students | $20,383 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at TLU.
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?
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.