by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for American College of Healthcare and Technology— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at ACHT, 89% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $8,109 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $8,109. 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.
For undergraduates overall at ACHT, 89% finance part of their studies with federal loans, for a typical $7,956 in federal loans per year. This works out to 1.9% lower than the $8,109 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $15,912 over two years and about $31,824 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 89% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,956 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 216 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,718,560 |
The median student at ACHT borrows $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,992 |
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 ACHT.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,830 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at ACHT.
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 ACHT.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 144 | $4,596 |
| Completed (graduates) | 115 | $4,644 |
| Did not complete | 29 | $4,444 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $55.22/mo.
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for ACHT.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for ACHT appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 10.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 297 |
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 | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at ACHT.
The Difference Between 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?
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.