Disclosed herein is a friable polyimide powder having a weight average molecular weight, as determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) using polystyrene standards, of less than or equal to 24,500 Daltons and a reactive aromatic amine end group concentration greater than or equal to 3 mole percent, wherein 90 weight percent of the powder particles are reducible to less than or equal to 75 micrometers by mechanical grinding. Also disclosed is a method of making the friable polyimide powder, a processed polyimide resulting from the friable polyimide powder and compositions comprising the processed polyimide.