by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Fortis Institute: 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.
Looking at the entering class at Fortis Institute - Houston, 81% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $7,720 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $7,720. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. 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 - Houston, freshmen included, 68% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $7,727 annually. This is 0.1% greater than the $7,720 typical freshmen borrow.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $15,454 after two years and $30,908 across a four-year program. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 68% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,727 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 431 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,330,453 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Fortis Institute - Houston carry a median federal debt of $6,333 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,333 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $9,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,167 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles shown below for Fortis Institute - Houston.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,414 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $11,524 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Fortis Institute - Houston.
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 Institute - Houston.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 326 | $5,493 |
| Completed (graduates) | 234 | $5,755 |
| Did not complete | 92 | $4,697 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $68.43/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Fortis Institute - Houston.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 277 | $5,491 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 49 | $5,700 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Fortis Institute - Houston.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Fortis Institute - Houston is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 13.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2308 |
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.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,334 |
| Middle income | $6,333 |
| High income | $6,333 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,333 |
| Continuing-generation students | $6,333 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,347 |
| Independent students | $6,333 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Fortis Institute - Houston.
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.
Important to Remember
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.