by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for The University of Tampa, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at UT, 82% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $8,592 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $5,630. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Looking at all undergraduates at UT, freshmen included, 67% borrow through federal student loan programs, for a typical $6,649 annually. That is 18.1% larger than the $5,630 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,298 after two years and $26,596 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 67% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,649 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 6,800 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $45,211,811 |
The median student at UT borrows $18,750 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,211 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
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 UT.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UT.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UT.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1478 | $38,807 |
| Completed (graduates) | 909 | $53,549 |
| Did not complete | 569 | $27,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $636.75/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at UT.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1419 | $40,480 |
| No Stafford loan | 59 | $19,000 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1366 | $41,587 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 112 | $17,338 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UT.
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 UT appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1377 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,500 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $18,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,378 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,586 |
| Independent students | $19,289 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UT.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
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.