by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Universal Technical Institute - Illinois: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at UTI Illinois, 87% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $8,479 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,416. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Looking at all undergraduates at UTI Illinois, freshmen included, 68% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,480 a year. This is 1.0% greater than the $6,416 typical freshmen borrow.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,960 after two years and $25,920 across a four-year program. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 68% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,480 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,127 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,302,768 |
The median student at UTI Illinois borrows $11,183 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,183 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,124 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for UTI Illinois.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,450 |
| 25th percentile | $8,500 |
| 75th percentile | $20,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,578 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UTI Illinois.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for UTI Illinois.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 3221 | $14,740 |
| Completed (graduates) | 2157 | $17,670 |
| Did not complete | 1064 | $8,412 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $210.12/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 UTI Illinois.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 3082 | $15,191 |
| No Stafford loan | 139 | $3,037 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 3052 | $15,212 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 169 | $3,391 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UTI Illinois.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UTI Illinois is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 6862 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,827 |
| Middle income | $11,688 |
| High income | $11,495 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,168 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,998 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,254 |
| Independent students | $10,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at UTI Illinois.
Subsidized vs. 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.