by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Cleveland Institute of Art: 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.
For incoming students at CIA, 80% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $9,697 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $6,080. 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.
Across the full undergraduate body at CIA (freshmen included), 80% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $7,327 a year. This works out to 20.5% higher than the $6,080 borrowed by freshmen.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $14,654 across two years and $29,308 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 80% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,327 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 446 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,267,779 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at CIA carry a median federal debt of $26,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $26,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for CIA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,500 |
| 75th percentile | $30,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,750 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at CIA.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at CIA.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 153 | $40,920 |
| Completed (graduates) | 89 | $60,640 |
| Did not complete | 64 | $30,951 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $721.07/mo.
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. CIA.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for CIA follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 166 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $26,625 |
| Middle income | $27,000 |
| High income | $25,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $26,700 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $26,500 |
| Independent students | $32,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at CIA.
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?
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.