by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Hendrix College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. These figures are reported by the Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Hendrix specifically, 52% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $8,036 per student, private and federal loans combined.
Federal loans alone average $5,199, equal to roughly 94.5% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. 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 Hendrix, 45% finance part of their studies with federal loans, at an average of $6,289 annually. This is 21.0% greater than the first-year federal average of $5,199.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $12,578 across two years and $25,156 over four years. These figures assume identical federal borrowing each year and omit private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 45% |
| Average federal loan per year | $6,289 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 494 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,106,798 |
The middle borrower at Hendrix owes $19,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $19,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $26,688 |
| Students who withdrew | $6,500 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Hendrix.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Hendrix.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Hendrix.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 107 | $26,964 |
| Completed (graduates) | 66 | $42,629 |
| Did not complete | 41 | $18,407 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $506.9/mo.
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Hendrix.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The federal two-year cohort default rate for Hendrix is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 239 |
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.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,488 |
| Middle income | $20,750 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Hendrix.
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.
Worth Knowing
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.