Direct Loan Default Rates
Colleges' "cohort default rates" (CDRs) measure the share of their federal Direct student loan borrowers who default within a specified period of time after entering repayment. (Students generally enter repayment after not attending college at least half-time in a degree-seeking program for at least 6 months.) Colleges with high CDRs may lose future eligibility for federal grants and loans.
A student defaults on a federal Direct student loan after at least 210 days (nine months) of non-payment. Defaulting on a loan has several serious consequences, including adding significantly to the cost of a loan and ruining the borrower's credit score.
Below are links to two public websites with official Direct/Stafford Loan Default Rates:
Follow the link below for detailed information on how the pandemic-related pause in federal student loan repayments has led to a significant decrease in CDR from the 2018 to 2019 loan repayment cohort:
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators →