Sioux Center, Iowa — Word comes to us from Dordt University in Sioux Center that their loan default rate is significantly better than the national average.
They say the student loan default rate measures the percentage of students who are unable to make the required payments on their student loans. Dordt University’s loan default rate is 1.8 percent, which is significantly better than the national average of 9.7 percent. Dordt officials say their low loan default rate shows that Dordt students who take out student loans to pay for their college education are very likely to repay the loan on time.
Harlan Harmelink, Dordt’s director of financial aid says there are many reasons why Dordt students are able to make their loan payments on time. He says Dordt has a very competitive level of indebtedness at graduation.
The last two years, the average debt load for Dordt students has been approximately $22,500, according to Dordt officials, who say that many families find this to be encouraging when analyzing the financial commitment for Dordt’s approximately $43,000 in room and board per year.
Harmelink also credits Dordt’s career outcome rate, which was 99 percent for the class of 2019.
Finally, Dordt officials say their students learn a sense of fiscal responsibility from both their families and time at Dordt. Dordt seeks to help students develop skills and traits beyond just their academics, looking at all areas of life.
