Idaho State University student loan default rates below national average

The default rate is measured in cohorts of students who enter loan repayment status the same year. Only 7.4 percent of Idaho State University students who entered into student loan repayment three years ago have defaulted on their loans, said James Martin, ISU financial aid director. The rate is well below the national cohort student loan default rate is 11.5 percent.

Martin credits the drop in part to a contract with RepayCentsibly, an outside agency that contacts borrowers when they are 90 days delinquent to advise students of options available to them. ISU also has increased communication with borrowers, offering them assistance and advice when they are 60 days delinquent. RepayCentsibly is not a debt collector, Martin says, but an agency that offers guidance to those who might not know that help is available.

“There are a lot of options for repayment now,” Martin says.