Just Ask CDR— Default Rate Insights in Seconds

Ask questions in plain English and get instant answers from Cohort Default Rate data—track, compare, and analyze loan default trends across every U.S. institution

The Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is the share of a school’s federal student loan borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment, published by U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid under the Official Cohort Default Rates program. A rate of 30% or higher for three years, or over 40% in one year, can end federal aid eligibility.

Data source: Official Cohort Default Rates, FY 2022. Last reviewed July 2026.

In Clema: FY 2022 official ratesCoverage: More than 10 years of official ratesNext update: FY 2023 official rates, September 2026All data sources →

Stop searching NSLDS one school at a time. Just ask.

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Clema

"How does our default rate compare to similar institutions?"

Your 3-year CDR is 8.2%.

That's well below the peer group average of 12.5% and the 30% threshold.

What is Cohort Default Rate?

The Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is a federal accountability metric that measures the percentage of student loan borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment. Published annually by the Department of Education, CDRs determine institutional eligibility for federal financial aid programs.

5,500+
Institutions tracked
10+ Years
Historical CDR data
3-Year
Rolling default window

Why Use CDR AI Agent?

Monitoring Cohort Default Rates traditionally means navigating NSLDS and compiling data manually. CDR AI Agent makes it effortless.

The Old Way

  • ✗Search NSLDS one institution at a time
  • ✗Download and compile CDR data manually
  • ✗Track threshold compliance in spreadsheets
  • ✗Cross-reference with institutional characteristics
  • ✗Days to prepare compliance reports

With CDR AI Agent

  • ✓Ask questions in plain English
  • ✓Get instant CDRs for any institution
  • ✓Automatic threshold and trend alerts
  • ✓Built-in peer comparisons and benchmarking
  • ✓Minutes instead of days

Questions You Can Ask

Just type naturally—CDR AI Agent understands what you need.

"What's the 3-year cohort default rate at ASU?"
"Compare CDR trends across Big 12 schools"
"Which institutions are above the 30% CDR threshold?"
"Show me national CDR averages over the past decade"
"How does our CDR compare to peer institutions?"
"List for-profit colleges with rising default rates"
"What states have the highest average CDRs?"
"Show CDR trends for community colleges in Texas"

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Frequently
Asked Questions

A cohort default rate (CDR) is the share of a school’s federal student loan borrowers who enter repayment in a given fiscal year and default within three years of entering repayment. It is published annually by the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid under the Official Cohort Default Rates program.

A school with an Official Cohort Default Rate of 30% or higher for three consecutive years, or over 40% in a single year, can lose eligibility for federal student aid programs. Federal Student Aid publishes each institution’s three-year CDR against these accountability thresholds.

Federal Student Aid divides the borrowers in a fiscal-year cohort who default within the three-year window by the total borrowers entering repayment in that cohort. The window covers the year borrowers enter repayment plus the next two federal fiscal years, drawn from NSLDS loan status.

Official Cohort Default Rates are published by the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, with the underlying loan status held in NSLDS. Clema queries that same official data in plain English, returning each rate with its source shown instead of one school at a time.

Anything related to Cohort Default Rates: institutional CDRs, national averages, historical trends, at-risk institutions, sector comparisons, and state-level breakdowns across all U.S. institutions.

Instead of navigating the NSLDS searchable database one school at a time, you ask questions in plain English and get instant comparisons, trends, and risk analyses across thousands of institutions.

Stop Searching NSLDS One School at a Time

Get the CDR insights you need—instantly.

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