by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend American Institute - Clifton— 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.
Looking at the entering class at American Institute - Clifton, 96% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, at roughly $7,643 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federal loan is $6,478. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing 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.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at American Institute - Clifton, 90% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $6,442 per year. That amounts to 0.6% under the $6,478 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,884 by year two and around $25,768 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 90% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,442 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,029 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $6,628,316 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at American Institute - Clifton carry a median federal debt of $9,304 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,304 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,979 |
| Students who withdrew | $5,490 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at American Institute - Clifton.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,982 |
| 75th percentile | $11,206 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,300 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at American Institute - Clifton.
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 Institute - Clifton.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 237 | $6,383 |
| Completed (graduates) | 115 | $7,682 |
| Did not complete | 122 | $5,594 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $91.35/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at American Institute - Clifton.
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 206 | $6,637 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 31 | $4,919 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. American Institute - Clifton.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for American Institute - Clifton appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 759 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $8,521 |
| High income | $9,022 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,300 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,483 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at American Institute - Clifton.
The Difference Between 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.
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.