by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Colorado Media School— 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.
Looking at the entering class at Colorado Media School, 50% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, borrowing on average $7,250 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $7,250. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Counting every undergraduate at Colorado Media School, 60% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $7,632 each per year. It comes to 5.3% above the $7,250 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $15,264 over two years and about $30,528 by the fourth year. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 60% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,632 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 95 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $724,994 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Colorado Media School carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
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 Colorado Media School.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $9,500 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Colorado Media School.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Colorado Media School.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 109 | $10,210 |
| Completed (graduates) | 80 | $10,613 |
| Did not complete | 29 | $8,011 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $126.2/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Colorado Media School.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 82 | $10,463 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 27 | $9,755 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Colorado Media School.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Colorado Media School appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 11.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 571 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
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 | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Colorado Media School.
Subsidized vs. 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
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.