by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend American Institute - Somerset, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At American Institute - Somerset specifically, 94% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, borrowing on average $9,546 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,570. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. 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 - Somerset, 83% borrow through federal student loan programs, borrowing on average $6,382 per year. This works out to 2.9% lower than the $6,570 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,764 over two years and about $25,528 across a four-year program. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 83% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,382 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 367 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,342,317 |
The median student at American Institute - Somerset borrows $9,304 in federal student loans.
| 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 - Somerset.
| 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 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at American Institute - Somerset.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at American Institute - Somerset.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 237 | $6,383 |
| Completed (graduates) | 115 | $7,682 |
| Did not complete | 122 | $5,594 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $91.35/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 Institute - Somerset.
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 - Somerset.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for American Institute - Somerset 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.
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 | $8,521 |
| High income | $9,022 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,300 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,483 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at American Institute - Somerset.
The Difference Between 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.
Important to Remember
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.