by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for University of Tulsa: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at University of Tulsa, 25% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $7,959 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $5,199, amounting to 94.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Across the full undergraduate body at University of Tulsa (freshmen included), 33% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $6,751 each per year. It comes to 29.9% larger than the $5,199 typical freshmen borrow.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,502 by year two and around $27,004 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 33% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,751 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 817 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,515,642 |
The middle borrower at University of Tulsa owes $12,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for University of Tulsa.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $31,431 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $44,444 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at University of Tulsa.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for University of Tulsa.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 359 | $25,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 231 | $34,500 |
| Did not complete | 128 | $20,003 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $410.24/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 University of Tulsa.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 344 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 15 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 322 | $25,737 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 37 | $19,639 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at University of Tulsa.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for University of Tulsa is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.6% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 688 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,000 |
| Middle income | $11,000 |
| High income | $14,232 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $12,750 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for University of Tulsa.
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.
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.