Official Cohort Default Rates for Guaranty Agencies and Lenders
Each year the Department publishes cohort default rates based on the percentage of a lender's or guarantor's student borrowers who enter repayment on FFEL program loans during a federal fiscal year
(October 1–September 30) and default before the end of the next fiscal year.
The Department of Education releases official cohort default rates once per year. The FY 2018 official cohort default rates were released to lenders and guarantors on September 27, 2021. The FY 2018 national cohort default rate average is 7.3 percent.
Also available are lists of the TOP 100 lenders who currently hold FFELP loans that entered repayment in 2018 and those who originated loans that entered repayment in 2018. (These files are in Adobe's Portable Document Format or PDF. To read them you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader; if you don't have that on your computer, you can download a free copy.)
During the official cohort default rate process, guaranty agencies and lenders are given the opportunity to correct their cohort default rate(s) with the Department. The correction process along with other important cohort default rate information can be found in the guide Cohort Default Rates for Guaranty Agencies and Lenders.
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FY 2018 official cohort default rates published for lenders and guarantors participating in the Title IV student financial assistance programs. |
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FY 2017 official cohort default rates published for lenders and guarantors participating in the Title IV student financial assistance programs. |
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FY 2016 official cohort default rates published for lenders and guarantors participating in the Title IV student financial assistance programs. |