by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend California Institute of Integral Studies— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Counting every undergraduate at CIIS, 63% finance part of their studies with federal loans, averaging $10,600 a year.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $21,200 after two years and $42,400 over four years. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 63% |
| Average federal loan per year | $10,600 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 36 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $381,588 |
The median student at CIIS borrows $18,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $18,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $18,750 |
| Students who withdrew | $15,250 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for CIIS.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $7,000 |
| 25th percentile | $13,075 |
| 75th percentile | $19,469 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CIIS.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CIIS.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 140 | $19,610 |
| Completed (graduates) | 69 | $21,783 |
| Did not complete | 71 | $17,897 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $259.02/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 CIIS.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 114 | $18,559 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 26 | $24,989 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CIIS.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for CIIS follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 346 |
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 | $18,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at CIIS.
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
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.