Student Loans

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FY 2023 national default rate briefing released

By Marlene Seeklander The national student loan default rate rose slightly from 0% to .4% – after remaining at 0% for the past three years.    The Department of Education (the Department) released their FY 2023 national default briefing and, as expected, the FY 2023 cohort default rates were affected by the pause on federal

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Release of FY 2023 official cohort default rates

By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid offices received their latest student loan default rates in late September. The Department of Education announced the distribution of the FY 2023 official cohort default rate (CDR) notification packages to schools enrolled in the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) process via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailbox. The package included

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Tip of the Week – October 7, 2026

Tip of the Week Dealing with student loan nonrepayment It’s not just a financial aid office issue. While higher education institutions are dealing with recruitment, enrollment and retention on the front end, student loan default is sneaking up on the back end. The FY 2023 default rates were just released last week and remain low

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Defaulted Loans Support Center launched to assist borrowers with defaulted federal student loans

By Marlene Seeklander Borrowers with defaulted federal student loans could now get on the path to repayment with a new website aimed at helping them understand their options. In a September 30 press release, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the launch of the Defaulted Loans Support Center. The

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Tip of the Week – September 30, 2026

Tip of the Week Student loan borrowers have additional time to enroll in auto pay Student loan borrowers have an additional three months to enroll in auto pay and receive a one percent interest rate reduction benefit. Auto pay allows the student loan servicer to automatically deduct the monthly student loan payment directly from the

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Tip of the Week – September 23, 2026

Tip of the Week Mapping Your Future offers FAFSA video presentation in preparation for the 2027-28 FAFSA Although the FAFSA application is much simpler to complete, financial aid remains a complex topic for students and parents. With the release of the 2027-28 FAFSA just around the corner, Mapping Your Future recorded a financial aid presentation

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Tip of the Week – September 16, 2026

Tip of the Week Fall is in the air Depending on where you live, it may feel more like fall than it had been even a week or two ago. I’ve noticed that weather reporters now talk about fall using two different terms and dates – astronomical fall and meteorological fall. Astronomical fall starts on

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Tip of the Week – September 9, 2026

Tip of the Week 25 years ago – Remembering 9/11 Do you remember where you were or what you were doing on September 11, 2001? Many of us very distinctly remember exactly where we were or what we were doing when the news broke on the radio and TV about the first plane crash. Many

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Federal Student Aid offers webinars aimed at reducing student loan defaults

By Marlene Seeklander With approximately nine million student loan borrowers in default, the Department of Education is urging schools to act to help their former students return to repayment. In a September 2 Dear Colleague Letter, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced two upcoming webinars, which are a part of their initiative to assist schools in

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Tip of the Week – September 2, 2026

Tip of the Week Financial aid superheroes Financial aid professionals are superheroes. Granted, they don’t wear fancy superhero outfits or have special powers. Or maybe they do. This time of the year especially, financial aid professionals have always exhibited their “superhero” abilities. As another academic year settles in, a long “To Do” list continues. But

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