by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend ATA College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At ATA College, 98% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $5,996 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $5,996. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Across the full undergraduate body at ATA College (freshmen included), 94% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, borrowing on average $6,627 each per year. That amounts to 10.5% more than the freshman federal average of $5,996.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,254 over two years and about $26,508 over four years. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 94% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,627 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 318 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,107,505 |
The middle borrower at ATA College owes $15,834 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,834 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,030 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,500 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at ATA College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $6,334 |
| 75th percentile | $22,637 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,713 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at ATA College.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at ATA College.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 92 | $7,504 |
| Completed (graduates) | 50 | $8,920 |
| Did not complete | 42 | $6,699 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $106.07/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. ATA College.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The federal two-year cohort default rate for ATA College is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 796 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $15,667 |
| Middle income | $15,834 |
| High income | $18,074 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,800 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,334 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $16,792 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at ATA College.
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
Unlike most other debt, federal student loans generally survive bankruptcy — and unpaid balances can lead to wage garnishment — so borrow only what you truly need.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.