Cohort Default Rate
The U.S. Department of Education annually produces federal student loan cohort default rates. This rate is the percentage of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) borrowers in repayment, who during a federal fiscal year, entered default on their loan(s).
LC State's 3-Year Cohort Default Rates
| Year | Default Rate | Borrowers in Repayment | Borrowers in Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020* | 0.0% | 853 | 0 |
| 2019* | 1.5% | 876 | 14 |
| 2018 | 9.2% | 910 | 84 |
*Includes one or more cohorts impacted by the COVID pandemic loan payment pause.
The Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is used by the U.S. Department of Education to determine whether colleges are eligible to receive federal student financial aid. The Department of Education can issue sanctions to schools with default rates above 40 percent in a single year or above 30 percent for three consecutive years.
For students and families, the CDR can potentially indicate a college's value and institutional commitment in helping students avoid loan debt.
A low default rate can also indicate that a college's graduates find employment that provides adequate income to manage their debt. The CDR is used as a component by many college ranking systems as an important item of consideration for prospective students.
Default is the failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to in the Master Promissory Note (MPN). For most federal student loans, you will default if you have not made a payment in more than 270 days. If you default on a federal student loan, you lose eligibility to receive federal student aid and you may experience serious legal consequences.
Default is when no payments have been made on the loan in 270 days.
Deferral is when loan repayment is paused. Deferral must be applied for directly with the loan servicer. Subsidized loans will not accrue interest during this time, however, unsubsidized loans will continue to accumulate interest.
Delinquency occurs when a payment is missed and lasts until payment is resolved or when the loan has entered a default status. If a loan is delinquent for 90 days or more, the loan servicer will report the delinquency to the three major national credit bureaus.
For more information on the Cohort Default Rate of LC State as well as schools nationwide visit Federal Student Aid's Cohort Default Rate school search tool at https://nsldsfap.ed.gov/cdr-searchable-database/school/search.