by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Fortis College-Columbia— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Fortis College - Columbia, 90% of first-year students take on loan debt, borrowing on average $8,871 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $8,871. That is at or past the $5,500 federal first-year limit for the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at Fortis College - Columbia, 72% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, for a typical $6,826 each per year. That is 23.1% lower than the $8,871 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $13,652 across two years and $27,304 over four years. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 72% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,826 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 384 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,621,232 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Fortis College - Columbia carry a median federal debt of $9,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $12,547 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Fortis College - Columbia.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $6,167 |
| 75th percentile | $13,827 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,083 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Fortis College - Columbia.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Fortis College - Columbia.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 658 | $6,398 |
| Completed (graduates) | 381 | $6,719 |
| Did not complete | 277 | $5,232 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $79.9/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Fortis College - Columbia.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 648 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 624 | $6,381 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 34 | $6,537 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Fortis College - Columbia.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Fortis College - Columbia appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 9.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2721 |
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 | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $9,643 |
| High income | $9,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,834 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $7,600 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Fortis College - Columbia.
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.
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.