Federal Loan Default Rates

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education monitors debt trends and evaluates state financial aid policies. In Fiscal Year 2017, Minnesota undergraduates received more than $800 million from federal student loan programs.

Default Rate Comparisons

Students attending Minnesota's colleges were less likely to default on federal student loans than their peers nationally, according to information published by the U.S. Department of Education. Minnesota undergraduate borrowing has declined slightly in recent years.

Minnesota's Fiscal Year 2018 three-year default rate was 5.6 percent, decreasing from 7.6 percent in Fiscal Year 2017.

Overall the state’s three-year default rate ranked ninth-lowest compared to other states. Louisiana (11.5 percent) had the highest average three-year default rate and Utah (3.9 percent) had the lowest average three-year default rate. Nationally, the Fiscal Year 2018 three-year default rate was 7.0 percent, decreasing from 9.3 percent in 2017. Both in Minnesota and nationally, students attending public two-year colleges were more likely to default than students attending other types of institutions.

The U.S. Department of Education releases official cohort default rates once per year.
A three-year cohort default rate is the percentage of a school's borrowers who enter repayment on certain Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans during a particular federal fiscal year (FY), October 1 to September 30, and default or meet other specified conditions prior to the end of the second following fiscal year.

Data provided by the U.S. Department of Education includes information on default rates for all students as of September 30, 2021, including undergraduates, graduate students, and those pursuing professional degrees or certificates. Default rates for students attending foreign schools were excluded from this analysis.

Colleges and universities with consistently high student loan default rates over a period of three years may be denied participation in federal and state financial aid programs for their students. No institutions in Minnesota have been denied participation in recent years.
More information on the official cohort default rates can be found on the Department of Education website.

Previous Minnesota Student Loan Default Rate Reports

• 3-Year Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published September 2020)
• 3-Year Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published September 2019)
• 3-Year Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published September 2018)
• 3-Year Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published September 2017)
• 3-Year Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published September 2016)
• 3-Year Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published September 2015)
• 3-Year Official Cohort Default Rates by State and Territory (published September 2015)
• 2011 Default Rates at Minnesota Institutions Trends (published October 2014)
• 2011 Default Rates by State and Territory (published October 2014)
• Two-Year Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2011
• Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2010
  [23 pgs; release date: October 2013]
• Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2009
  [16 pgs; release date: October 2013]
• Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2009
  [15 pgs; release date: October 2011]
• Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2008
  [15 pgs; release date: February 2011]
• Student Loan Default Rates in Minnesota, 2007
  [15 pgs; release date: January 2010]
• Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Postsecondary Institutions, 2006
  [9 pgs; release date: September 2008]
• Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Postsecondary Institutions, 2005
  [10 pgs; release date: September 26, 2007]
• Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Postsecondary Institutions, 2004
  [9 pgs; release date: December 4, 2006]
• Cohort Default Rates at Minnesota Postsecondary Institutions, 2003
  [8 pgs; release date: October 5, 2005]