by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Reed College— 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.
At Reed, 45% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $6,633 each — a figure that counts both private and federal student loans.
The average federally funded loan is $4,942, equal to roughly 89.9% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
For undergraduates overall at Reed, 41% borrow through federal student loan programs, with a mean of $5,994 in federal loans per year. It comes to 21.3% greater than the $4,942 borrowed by freshmen.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $11,988 by year two and around $23,976 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 | 41% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,994 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 572 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $3,428,664 |
The median student at Reed borrows $15,750 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $15,750 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $21,500 |
| Students who withdrew | $10,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Reed.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,437 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $17,575 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $23,473 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Reed.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Reed.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 64 | $45,155 |
| Completed (graduates) | 28 | $48,773 |
| Did not complete | 36 | $45,155 |
Completers face an estimated standard 10-year monthly payment on their PLUS-inclusive debt of roughly $579.96/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Reed.
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 53 | — |
| No Stafford loan this year | 11 | — |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Reed.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Reed is shown below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 2.8% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 210 |
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.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,588 |
| Middle income | $18,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,775 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,500 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Reed.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.