by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Universal Technical Institute of Texas Inc.: 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 UTI Houston specifically, 75% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, for an average of $8,160 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federally funded loan is $6,678. This reaches or tops the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing cap for a typical dependent student. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at UTI Houston, 59% take out federal student loans, averaging $6,412 a year. That is 4.0% smaller than the $6,678 freshmen take on.
Borrowing at that rate every year works out to about $12,824 over two years and about $25,648 by the fourth year. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 59% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,412 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,601 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $10,266,101 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at UTI Houston carry a median federal debt of $11,574 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,574 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $14,267 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,750 |
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 UTI Houston.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,188 |
| 75th percentile | $18,084 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $22,625 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at UTI Houston.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at UTI Houston.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 2433 | $13,220 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1532 | $16,149 |
| Did not complete | 901 | $7,314 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $192.03/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at UTI Houston.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 2279 | $13,743 |
| No Stafford loan | 154 | $2,927 |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 2262 | $13,746 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 171 | $3,222 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for UTI Houston.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for UTI Houston appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 15.1% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3156 |
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 | $11,166 |
| Middle income | $11,999 |
| High income | $11,899 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,188 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,688 |
| Independent students | $10,594 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at UTI Houston.
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.
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.