by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend American Career College-Los Angeles— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at American Career College - Los Angeles, 82% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $9,867 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
Federal loans alone average $8,546. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at American Career College - Los Angeles, 63% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $8,387 annually. That amounts to 1.9% below the freshman federal average of $8,546.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $16,774 across two years and $33,548 over a four-year span. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,387 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,073 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,387,163 |
The median student at American Career College - Los Angeles borrows $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for American Career College - Los Angeles.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,583 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,267 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $20,019 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at American Career College - Los Angeles.
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 American Career College - Los Angeles.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 729 | $11,688 |
| Completed (graduates) | 560 | $12,366 |
| Did not complete | 169 | $7,506 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $147.04/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 American Career College - Los Angeles.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 708 | $11,799 |
| No Stafford loan | 21 | $3,498 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 677 | $11,870 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 52 | $5,115 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for American Career College - Los Angeles.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for American Career College - Los Angeles is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3770 |
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 | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $10,122 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,910 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,127 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at American Career College - Los Angeles.
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?
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.