by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Bard College at Simon’s Rock— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
Looking at the entering class at Simon’s Rock, 40% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $9,870 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,946, equal to roughly 89.9% of the typical first-year dependent student borrowing cap of $5,500. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
For undergraduates overall at Simon’s Rock, 44% rely on federal student loans toward their education, at an average of $5,515 per year. That amounts to 11.5% above the $4,946 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,030 by year two and around $22,060 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 | 44% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,515 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 103 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $568,084 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Simon’s Rock carry a median federal debt of $19,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $24,254 |
| Students who withdrew | $12,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Simon’s Rock.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,500 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Simon’s Rock.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Simon’s Rock.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 257 | $27,200 |
| Completed (graduates) | 142 | $29,734 |
| Did not complete | 115 | $24,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $353.57/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 Simon’s Rock.
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 220 | $28,436 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 37 | $14,761 |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Simon’s Rock.
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 Simon’s Rock is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 3.2% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 464 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,000 |
| Middle income | $18,750 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,865 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,000 |
| Independent students | $15,160 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Simon’s Rock.
The Difference Between Subsidized and 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.
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.