Jessica Blake
October 6, 2026
For the first time in four years, the national default rate ticked up slightly. One expert warns other data on nonrepayment is a “canary in the coal mine of what could be to come.”
As millions of borrowers default on their student loans, the clock is ticking for colleges to make a more concerted effort in response. If not, higher ed finance experts warn, hundreds of institutions could risk losing access to federal student aid.
The national cohort default rate—or the percentage of student borrowers who go more than 360 days without making a payment on their loans in the first three years after leaving college—rose from 0 percent to 0.4 percent over the last year, a recent report from the Department of Education shows. That’s the first increase in four years, as the rate fell to zero while student loan payments were paused during the pandemic.