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Federal Loan Aid & Default Rates
In Fiscal Year 2011, Minnesota undergraduates received $1.7 billion from Federal student loan programs. Search Financial Aid Awarded survey data to find amounts and types of federal loans and all other types of financial aid received by undergraduates attending Minnesota postsecondary institutions.
Cohort default rates for federal loans are prepared by the U.S. Department of Education.
Trends in Education Debt
Because student borrowing is increasing and about half of all Minnesota undergraduate students borrow, concerns are growing about the capacity of students and college graduates to repay those loans. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education monitors debt trends and evaluates state financial aid policies. Here are some statistics:
- From 2001 to 2011, the increase in borrowing was greater than the increases in both tuition and personal income.
- In 2007-2008, 63% of all full-time undergraduates who were Minnesota residents had student loans.
- In Minnesota, the majority of students borrow $23,000 or less. Only a small percentage of undergraduates borrow $46,000 or more.
- The default rate on student loans is fairly low:
- The national default rate on Federal Stafford loans was 8.8% in 2009.
- The default rate in Minnesota for the same period was 5.8%.
- In 2010, 70 percent of those receiving bachelor's degrees from public universities in Minnesota had student loans, and the average amount borrowed was $27,600. The monthly payment for those paying the loans on a 10-ear schedule was $312. Amount students graduating from private nonprofit colleges in Minnesota with bachelor's degrees, 74 percent had student loans, the average amount borrowed was $31,400 and the monthly payment on a 10-7ear payment schedule was $360.
