by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Fortis Institute-Cookeville: 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 Fortis Institute - Cookeville, 94% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, averaging $7,365 each, across private and federal loan sources.
Federal loans alone average $7,365. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to 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.
Looking at all undergraduates at Fortis Institute - Cookeville, freshmen included, 84% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $8,783 per year. This works out to 19.3% greater than the $7,365 freshmen take on.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $17,566 over two years and about $35,132 by the fourth year. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 84% |
| Average federal loan per year | $8,783 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 258 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $2,265,965 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Fortis Institute - Cookeville carry a median federal debt of $11,501 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,501 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,334 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Fortis Institute - Cookeville.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $6,334 |
| 75th percentile | $17,813 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,694 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Fortis Institute - Cookeville.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Fortis Institute - Cookeville.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 175 | $7,986 |
| Completed (graduates) | 111 | $9,399 |
| Did not complete | 64 | $6,880 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $111.76/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Fortis Institute - Cookeville.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 165 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 10 | — |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Fortis Institute - Cookeville.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Fortis Institute - Cookeville appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 7.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 696 |
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 | $10,000 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $13,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,976 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,000 |
| Independent students | $12,997 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Fortis Institute - Cookeville.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
With an unsubsidized loan, interest starts adding up the day the loan is disbursed, including during school. Subsidized loans, by contrast, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time, which makes them the less expensive option when you qualify.
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.