From: Phil deHaan (dehp@calvin.edu)
Date: Wed Sep 17 2003 - 14:44:19 EDT
September 17, 2003 == MEDIA ADVISORY
Graduates of Calvin College have one of the lowest default rates on student
loans in the state according to a report this week from the U.S. Department of
Education.
In fiscal year 2001 just 1.2 percent of Calvin graduates making loan
repayments were in default. For 2000 Calvin's figure was slightly lower at
1.1%, while in 1999 it was 1.4%.
Nationwide, the Department of Education said, only 5.4 percent of college
graduates who began making payments in fiscal 2001 defaulted on their debt - an
all-time low. In the previous fiscal year, 5.9 percent of students with
outstanding loans defaulted.
West Michigan colleges and universities mirror that trend. For 2001, Hope
College was at 1.8%, Cornerstone at 2.1%, Grand Valley at 2.9% and Aquinas at
4.7%.
The national student loan default rate reached a high of 22.4 percent in FY
1990 but has declined steadily since. Department officials attribute the drop
in defaults to improved credit counseling, more flexible repayment schedules
and low interest rates.
Using statistics from schools and lenders, the Education Department's default
rate is based on the number of students who go 270 days without making a
payment during their first year of repaying a student loan.
In 2001, 5.7 million students obtained $39.7 billion in federally backed
loans.
See http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2003/09/09162003.html
-end-
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