Student loan defaults up, but not at historic high

The most recent information from the U.S. Department of Education shows the student loan default rate for the 2014 cohort is up a bit, but down significantly from a five-year high.

During the period of 2103-2014 for students who started repayments, more than five million borrowers entered repayment. And 580,671 of them—or 11.5 percent—defaulted. Those borrowers attended 6,173 postsecondary institutions across the nation.

Over the past five years, the rate has decreased 3.2 percentage points from a high of 14.7.

Schools with high student-loan default rates may lose their eligibility to participate in or expand their federal student aid programs. No schools in Georgia were listed by the DOE as in danger.

You can read about college debt in Georgia in this article on myAJC.com.

Information and help with student loans can be found at StudentAid.gov/feedback.

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