by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Los Angeles College of Music, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at LACM, 19% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, borrowing on average $1,980 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The typical federal loan comes to $1,980, or about 36.0% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
For undergraduates overall at LACM, 32% rely on federal student loans toward their education, with a mean of $3,630 per year. This works out to 83.3% greater than the $1,980 freshmen take on.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $7,260 by year two and around $14,520 after four. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 32% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,630 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 86 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $312,162 |
The middle borrower at LACM owes $17,521 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $17,521 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,938 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,584 |
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 LACM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,000 |
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for LACM.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 69 | $57,488 |
| Completed (graduates) | 34 | $62,269 |
| Did not complete | 35 | $49,893 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $740.44/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at LACM.
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 LACM is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 8.5% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 24 |
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 | $18,250 |
| Middle income | $22,391 |
| High income | $12,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,375 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,725 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at LACM.
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
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.