by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Claremont McKenna College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
Looking at the entering class at Claremont McKenna, 28% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, with a typical loan of $8,411 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,263, equal to roughly 77.5% of the $5,500 first-year borrowing cap for the typical first-year dependent student. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Claremont McKenna, 21% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, averaging $5,016 annually. It comes to 17.7% higher than the freshman federal average of $4,263.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $10,032 across two years and $20,064 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 21% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,016 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 289 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,449,699 |
The median student at Claremont McKenna borrows $11,948 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,948 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
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 Claremont McKenna.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $19,827 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,198 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Claremont McKenna.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Claremont McKenna.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 52 | $52,129 |
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Claremont McKenna.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 35 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 17 | — |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 33 | $42,767 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 19 | $80,757 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Claremont McKenna.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Claremont McKenna follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.3% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 85 |
This rate follows a borrower cohort from the start of repayment through the two-year window the Department of Education uses.
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 | $13,500 |
| Middle income | $11,500 |
| High income | $11,948 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,987 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Claremont McKenna.
The Difference Between 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.
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.