by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Maryland Institute College of Art— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at MICA, 55% of first-year students take on loan debt, averaging $9,138 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,262, equal to roughly 95.7% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. 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 MICA, freshmen included, 43% rely on federal student loans toward their education, averaging $6,369 a year. This works out to 21.0% larger than the first-year federal average of $5,262.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $12,738 in two years and roughly $25,476 by the fourth year. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 43% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,369 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 546 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,477,433 |
The middle borrower at MICA owes $16,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $16,250 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,750 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for MICA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $28,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at MICA.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at MICA.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 403 | $46,500 |
| Completed (graduates) | 239 | $63,100 |
| Did not complete | 164 | $38,157 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $750.33/mo.
Stafford loans are the federal direct-loan program most undergraduates use. The breakdown below separates borrowers who used Stafford loans from those who did not at MICA.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 379 | $47,549 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 24 | $24,569 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for MICA.
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 MICA is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 474 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,313 |
| Middle income | $15,750 |
| High income | $15,890 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,125 |
| Independent students | $24,961 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at MICA.
Subsidized and 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
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.