by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend The University of Tennessee-Knoxville: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At UT Knoxville, 30% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $9,536 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $5,203, equal to roughly 94.6% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Across the full undergraduate body at UT Knoxville (freshmen included), 29% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,354 per year. This is 22.1% larger than the $5,203 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,708 by year two and around $25,416 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 29% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,354 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 8,340 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $52,993,476 |
The median student at UT Knoxville borrows $16,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| 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 UT Knoxville.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,398 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at UT Knoxville.
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 UT Knoxville.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2531 | $26,015 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1655 | $30,610 |
| Did not complete | 876 | $21,261 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $363.99/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 UT Knoxville.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2425 | $26,419 |
| No Stafford loan | 106 | $22,809 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2181 | $27,510 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 350 | $21,084 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at UT Knoxville.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UT Knoxville is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 5276 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,000 |
| Middle income | $16,875 |
| High income | $15,590 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,162 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,914 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,750 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for UT Knoxville.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
Important to Remember
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.