by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend School of the Art Institute of Chicago— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 42% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, at roughly $9,600 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $5,516. This is at or above the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap that applies to the typical dependent freshman. Note that average undergraduate loan amounts shown later do not include private loans — so the full freshman figure above is not directly comparable.
Counting every undergraduate at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 37% finance part of their studies with federal loans, with a mean of $7,023 annually. It comes to 27.3% greater than the freshman federal average of $5,516.
Repeating that yearly amount projects to about $14,046 across two years and $28,092 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 | 37% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,023 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,033 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $7,254,956 |
The median student at School of the Art Institute of Chicago borrows $19,000 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $27,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $11,000 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,700 |
| 25th percentile | $8,500 |
| 75th percentile | $29,750 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,000 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 569 | $58,423 |
| Completed (graduates) | 320 | $77,991 |
| Did not complete | 249 | $47,224 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $927.4/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Any-Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 555 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 14 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 542 | $60,469 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 27 | $46,454 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for School of the Art Institute of Chicago appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 6.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 701 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $21,363 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $18,456 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,701 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,495 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,000 |
| Independent students | $24,250 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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.
Did You Know?
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.