by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Musicians Institute: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Musicians Institute, 17% of freshmen borrow to help pay for their first year, at roughly $6,169 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $6,169. That sits at or beyond the $5,500 first-year federal limit for a typical dependent student. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Musicians Institute, 22% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $6,388 each per year. This works out to 3.6% greater than the freshman federal average of $6,169.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $12,776 across two years and $25,552 after four. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 22% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,388 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 169 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,079,591 |
The middle borrower at Musicians Institute owes $6,334 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $6,334 |
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Musicians Institute.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,501 |
| 25th percentile | $3,668 |
| 75th percentile | $9,834 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,667 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Musicians Institute.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Musicians Institute.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 232 | $33,644 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Musicians Institute.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 216 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 211 | $35,369 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 21 | $23,915 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Musicians Institute.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Musicians Institute follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 678 |
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 | $6,334 |
| Middle income | $6,334 |
| High income | $5,501 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $6,334 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,334 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,833 |
| Independent students | $6,334 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Musicians Institute.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
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.