by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for California Institute of the Arts: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at CalArts, 38% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, with a typical loan of $7,207 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,073, or about 92.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at CalArts, 37% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, for a typical $6,730 in federal loans per year. It comes to 32.7% larger than the $5,073 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $13,460 across two years and $26,920 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,730 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 331 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,227,582 |
The median student at CalArts borrows $16,994 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,994 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $25,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
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 CalArts.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $7,500 |
| 25th percentile | $16,398 |
| 75th percentile | $36,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CalArts.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CalArts.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 204 | $53,823 |
| Completed (graduates) | 109 | $60,000 |
| Did not complete | 95 | $51,268 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $713.46/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at CalArts.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 189 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 15 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CalArts.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for CalArts is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 389 |
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 | $20,000 |
| Middle income | $17,313 |
| High income | $14,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,250 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at CalArts.
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.