by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Independent Training & Apprenticeship Program: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At I-TAP specifically, 58% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $7,359 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $7,359. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at I-TAP, freshmen included, 60% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $7,428 annually. This works out to 0.9% higher than the freshman federal average of $7,359.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,856 after two years and $29,712 over a four-year span. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 60% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,428 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 129 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $958,238 |
The middle borrower at I-TAP owes $9,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $9,500 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for I-TAP.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
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 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for I-TAP.
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
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.