Delinquency: The Untold Story of Student Loan Borrowing

This report uses an unprecedented wealth of data provided by five of the nation’s largest student loan guaranty agencies to examine more than 8.7 million student borrowers with nearly 27.5 million loans who entered repayment between October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2009. With a primary focus on the nearly 1.8 million student loan borrowers who entered repayment in 2005, the study provides data on the repayment behavior of borrowers and quantifies how many are having difficulty repaying their federal education loans. The study also highlights the scope of student loan borrowers who become delinquent on their loans, but who do not default, and suggests that to fully capture borrowers’ struggle with repayment each month, data must look beyond just default.