by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for American InterContinental University-Houston— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At AIU Houston specifically, 67% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $6,868 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $6,868. This meets or exceeds the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Across the full undergraduate body at AIU Houston (freshmen included), 76% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $8,321 each per year. That is 21.2% greater than the $6,868 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $16,642 by year two and around $33,284 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 76% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,321 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 94 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $782,165 |
The median student at AIU Houston borrows $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $31,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,571 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for AIU Houston.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $23,295 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,415 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at AIU Houston.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at AIU Houston.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1710 | $7,637 |
| Completed (graduates) | 424 | $9,071 |
| Did not complete | 1286 | $7,000 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $107.86/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at AIU Houston.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1690 | $7,791 |
| No Stafford loan | 20 | $2,272 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1141 | $7,447 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 569 | $7,955 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for AIU Houston.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for AIU Houston follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 20018 |
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 | $12,667 |
| High income | $13,020 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,195 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at AIU Houston.
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.
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.