by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Among first-year students at FIDM Los Angeles, 60% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, for an average of $10,848 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $6,515. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at FIDM Los Angeles, 32% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $6,561 each per year. That amounts to 0.7% larger than the $6,515 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $13,122 after two years and $26,244 after four. The estimate holds federal borrowing constant and does not count private or Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,561 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 442 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,899,875 |
The median student at FIDM Los Angeles borrows $12,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $12,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,734 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,333 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for FIDM Los Angeles.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,043 |
| 25th percentile | $8,500 |
| 75th percentile | $19,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,100 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at FIDM Los Angeles.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at FIDM Los Angeles.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 987 | $43,769 |
| Completed (graduates) | 687 | $52,899 |
| Did not complete | 300 | $28,693 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $629.03/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 FIDM Los Angeles.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 953 | $44,189 |
| No Stafford loan | 34 | $21,139 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 945 | $44,510 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 42 | $20,009 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at FIDM Los Angeles.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for FIDM Los Angeles is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 4.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2396 |
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 | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $14,584 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for FIDM Los Angeles.
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.