by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Pomona College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at Pomona, 16% of incoming undergraduates borrow in year one, at roughly $12,142 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,956, representing 90.1% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Be aware: the undergraduate-wide averages below exclude private loans, while this freshman number includes them.
Counting every undergraduate at Pomona, 10% take out federal student loans, averaging $5,776 each per year. That amounts to 16.5% larger than the first-year federal average of $4,956.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,552 by year two and around $23,104 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 10% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,776 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 156 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $901,032 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Pomona carry a median federal debt of $10,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $10,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $11,782 |
| Students who withdrew | $7,374 |
Debt carried by students who withdrew is a key risk signal — these borrowers owe money without having earned the credential.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Pomona.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,636 |
| 25th percentile | $5,554 |
| 75th percentile | $19,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,500 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at Pomona.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Pomona.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 58 | $27,861 |
| Completed (graduates) | 38 | $27,861 |
| Did not complete | 20 | $27,573 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $331.3/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 Pomona.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 47 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 11 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 47 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 11 | — |
The indicators below describe what the typical debt costs to pay back at Pomona.
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 Pomona follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 69 |
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 | $5,500 |
| Middle income | $6,500 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,152 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,750 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Pomona.
Subsidized vs. 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.
Important to Remember
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.