Cohort default rate.
In plain English
A school's cohort default rate is the percentage of its federal student loan borrowers who enter repayment in a given period and then default within a defined window, published by the Department of Education. It is used as one rough gauge of how students fare after leaving, and schools with rates above certain thresholds can face penalties, including loss of access to federal aid. It is a blunt measure: it captures outright default, not lighter struggles like delinquency or long forbearance, so a low rate does not prove students are thriving, only that few formally defaulted. The current figures come from ED.
01Why it matters
A very high cohort default rate is a warning sign about a school's outcomes and cost, so students can use it as one input when weighing a program, while knowing it does not capture every kind of repayment trouble.
02The math, step by step
Comparing two programs, a prospective student notices one has a much higher cohort default rate. That flags that more of its borrowers defaulted after leaving, worth investigating alongside cost and completion rates, even though the number misses borrowers who merely struggled short of default.
03What this is NOT
It is not a full outcomes score. The rate counts only formal defaults in a set window. Borrowers who are delinquent, in long forbearance, or barely keeping up are not captured, so a low rate does not mean everyone is doing well.
04Receipts
Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary document. Tap to open the original.