by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Academy College: 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.
At Academy College specifically, 50% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, averaging $37,854 per student, private and federal loans combined.
The average federal loan is $5,443, representing 99.0% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Academy College, 52% rely on federal student loans toward their education, borrowing on average $8,003 per year. It comes to 47.0% higher than the freshman federal average of $5,443.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $16,006 after two years and $32,012 across a four-year program. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 52% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,003 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 51 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $408,134 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Academy College carry a median federal debt of $16,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $29,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,417 |
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 Academy College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $11,667 |
| 75th percentile | $28,685 |
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Academy College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 19 | $43,692 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Academy College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Academy College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 19.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 126 |
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 | $19,621 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,180 |
| Independent students | $19,811 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Academy College.
Subsidized and 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.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.