by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Tulane University of Louisiana: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Tulane, 24% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $9,962 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federally funded loan is $5,052, representing 91.9% 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Tulane, freshmen included, 22% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,114 in federal loans per year. It comes to 21.0% above the $5,052 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,228 over two years and about $24,456 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 22% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,114 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,688 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,319,698 |
The median student at Tulane borrows $19,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $20,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Tulane.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $34,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $42,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Tulane.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Tulane.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1003 | $30,234 |
| Completed (graduates) | 769 | $33,574 |
| Did not complete | 234 | $23,606 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $399.23/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Tulane.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 980 | $30,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 23 | $50,000 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 839 | $31,433 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 164 | $26,372 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Tulane.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Tulane is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1985 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,937 |
| Middle income | $19,000 |
| High income | $19,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,000 |
| Independent students | $20,375 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Tulane.
Subsidized and 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.
Did You Know?
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.