by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Clark Atlanta University, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At CAU specifically, 79% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, with a typical loan of $8,455 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $6,271. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at CAU, 80% take out federal student loans, averaging $7,070 annually. This is 12.7% greater than the $6,271 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $14,140 after two years and $28,280 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 80% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,070 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 2,802 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $19,810,069 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CAU carry a median federal debt of $19,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| 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 CAU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $43,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at CAU.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CAU.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1841 | $44,369 |
| Completed (graduates) | 945 | $61,803 |
| Did not complete | 896 | $31,506 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $734.9/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at CAU.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1807 | $45,023 |
| No Stafford loan | 34 | $28,004 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 1790 | $45,569 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 51 | $24,643 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for CAU.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for CAU is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1515 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,250 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| 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 | $20,000 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for CAU.
The Difference Between 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.
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.