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Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 332.50. Number of postsecondary students who entered the student loan repayment phase, number of students who defaulted within a 3-year period, and 3-year student loan cohort default rate, by level and control of institution: Fiscal years 2010 through 2015
Fiscal year, number of students, and default rate All institutions Less-than-2-year institutions 2-year institutions 4-year institutions
Total1 Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private Total Public Private
Nonprofit For-profit Non- profit For-profit Non- profit For-profit Nonprofit For-profit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fiscal year 2010                                
Number of students                                
Entering repayment phase
   in given fiscal year2
4,082,570 1,922,773 879,269 1,270,965 178,904 7,963 5,020 165,921 950,143 599,467 16,217 334,459 2,943,960 1,315,343 858,032 770,585
Defaulting by end of second
   following fiscal year3
600,545 250,661 72,347 277,088 37,223 1,315 1,097 34,811 199,922 125,764 2,305 71,853 362,951 123,582 68,945 170,424
3-year cohort default rate4 14.7 13.0 8.2 21.8 20.8 16.5 21.8 20.9 21.0 20.9 14.2 21.4 12.3 9.3 8.0 22.1
                                 
Fiscal year 2011                                
Number of students                                
Entering repayment phase
   in given fiscal year2
4,732,793 2,252,334 969,156 1,500,812 202,526 8,750 6,567 187,209 1,174,583 767,073 16,861 390,649 3,345,193 1,476,511 945,728 922,954
Defaulting by end of second
   following fiscal year3
650,727 292,012 70,186 288,126 41,526 1,196 1,644 38,686 237,571 158,104 2,026 77,441 371,227 132,712 66,516 171,999
3-year cohort default rate4 13.7 12.9 7.2 19.1 20.5 13.6 25.0 20.6 20.2 20.6 12.0 19.8 11.1 8.9 7.0 18.6
                                 
Fiscal year 2012                                
Number of students                                
Entering repayment phase
   in given fiscal year2
5,143,918 2,563,157 1,083,328 1,486,162 209,036 10,151 10,336 188,549 1,301,109 905,058 42,274 353,777 3,622,502 1,647,948 1,030,718 943,836
Defaulting by end of second
   following fiscal year3
610,956 301,453 73,747 235,384 36,952 1,241 2,318 33,393 242,471 173,628 6,193 62,650 331,161 126,584 65,236 139,341
3-year cohort default rate4 11.8 11.7 6.8 15.8 17.7 12.2 22.4 17.7 18.6 19.1 14.6 17.7 9.1 7.6 6.3 14.7
                                 
Fiscal year 2013                                
Number of students                                
Entering repayment phase
   in given fiscal year2
5,211,531 2,691,995 1,118,051 1,387,815 197,189 10,823 10,649 175,717 1,301,834 948,515 42,974 310,345 3,698,838 1,732,657 1,064,428 901,753
Defaulting by end of second
   following fiscal year3
593,182 305,516 78,659 208,570 33,327 1,414 2,194 29,719 234,986 176,206 6,593 52,187 324,432 127,896 69,872 126,664
3-year cohort default rate4 11.3 11.3 7.0 15.0 16.9 13.0 20.6 16.9 18.1 18.5 15.3 16.8 8.8 7.3 6.5 14.0
                                 
Fiscal year 2014                                
Number of students                                
Entering repayment phase
   in given fiscal year2
5,047,954 2,678,811 1,108,120 1,250,242 180,437 10,775 8,312 161,350 1,220,298 921,537 39,336 259,425 3,636,438 1,746,499 1,060,472 829,467
Defaulting by end of second
   following fiscal year3
580,671 303,389 82,867 194,027 30,604 1,491 1,654 27,459 221,748 169,325 6,958 45,465 327,931 132,573 74,255 121,103
3-year cohort default rate4 11.5 11.3 7.4 15.5 17.0 13.8 19.8 17.0 18.2 18.3 17.6 17.5 9.0 7.5 7.0 14.6
                                 
Fiscal year 2015                                
Number of students                                
Entering repayment phase
   in given fiscal year2
4,900,932 2,616,327 1,106,590 1,167,289 177,886 9,838 10,198 157,850 1,123,770 852,423 33,070 238,277 3,588,550 1,754,066 1,063,322 771,162
Defaulting by end of second
   following fiscal year3
531,653 269,876 78,706 182,686 31,687 1,152 2,247 28,288 191,872 142,775 5,541 43,556 307,709 125,949 70,918 110,842
3-year cohort default rate4 10.8 10.3 7.1 15.6 17.8 11.7 22.0 17.9 17.1 16.7 16.7 18.2 8.6 7.1 6.6 14.3
1 Includes borrowers from foreign and unclassified schools, which account for less than 1 percent of borrowers and are not included elsewhere.
2 The repayment phase is the period when student loans must be repaid; it generally begins 6 months after a student leaves an institution. Students who enter the repayment phase during a particular federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30) make up the cohort for that fiscal year. For example, members of the fiscal year (FY) 2015 cohort entered the repayment phase any time from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015.
3 Borrowers are considered to be in default if they make no payments for 360 days after missing a regularly scheduled payment.
4 The 3-year cohort default rate is the percentage of borrowers entering repayment during the specified fiscal year and defaulting by the end of the second fiscal year that follows. For example, the 3-year cohort default rate for FY 2010 is the percentage of borrowers who entered repayment during FY 2010 (any time from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010) and who defaulted by the end of FY 2012 (September 30, 2012). For purposes of computing default rates, if an individual or entity affiliated with the institution makes a payment to prevent a borrower’s default on a loan, the borrower is still considered in default.
NOTE: Data are for certain loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (commonly referred to as the Direct Loan Program). Includes Federal Stafford Loans. Does not include PLUS loans, Federal Insured Student Loans (FISLs), or Federal Perkins Loans. For more details, see https://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/guide/attachments/CDRGuideCh2Pt1CDRCalculation.pdf. The default rates shown in this table for the FY 2010, FY 2011, and FY 2012 cohorts are no longer available online; therefore, no source for these default rates can be provided.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid, Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan Programs, Cohort Default Rate Database; retrieved November 16, 2018, from https://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/defaultmanagement/schooltyperates.pdf. (This table was prepared November 2018.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest