Lets hope that you arent wondering if you are in default. It wont feel good and it doesnt look good on your credit report.  But the cold hard fact is that the default rate is about 9% nationwide. The default rate varies across the nation and also depends on the particular  school that you went to, and the type of school. Perhaps you have seen the stories on the news lately about how the default rate is much higher at schools that are “for profit”.

So, what is default ?  On a federal student loan:  Assuming that you are supposed to make monthly payments- you are in default if you havent made a payment in 270 days. There are some different options available to you if you think you may be going into default status. Call your lender and talk to them about your situation and see what you can work out. 

For more information about student loan default status, visit The Ombudsman website .