According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2007 6.7 percent of borrowers defaulted on their federal student loans, up from 5.2 percent in 2006. Payments on federal loans begin after a student graduates. Is this a bad sign? Of course load defaults are never good, but as a historical comparison, in 1990, nearly one in four borrowers defaulted on their federal loans when default rates set an all-time high of 22.4 percent. The rate dropped to record low of 4.5 percent in 2003.
Borrowers who need assistance in repaying their student loans can visit www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov or can contact the holders of their loans to learn about repayment options. For help locating their loan holders, borrowers may access www.nslds.ed.gov or may contact the Department’s Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). Also see: Types of Aid for Graduate Students
