by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend American University— 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.
For incoming students at The American University, 47% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, borrowing on average $7,551 each, across private and federal loan sources.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,129, which is 93.3% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at The American University, 39% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,031 in federal loans per year. This is 17.6% above the $5,129 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $12,062 across two years and $24,124 over a four-year span. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 39% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,031 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,969 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $17,907,130 |
The median student at The American University borrows $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $22,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for The American University.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,750 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at The American University.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at The American University.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1743 | $36,276 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1358 | $39,169 |
| Did not complete | 385 | $30,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $465.76/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 The American University.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1712 | $36,000 |
| No Stafford loan | 31 | $57,575 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1533 | $39,000 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 210 | $25,627 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for The American University.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for The American University follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2508 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,500 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $19,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $16,332 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at The American University.
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.
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.