Student loan delinquencies soared in early 2025, impacting millions of borrowers' credit scores as unpaid debts climb to $1.63 trillion. Image (c) Consumer

Seriously delinquent student loans are at a record high just as involuntary collections resume. Many borrowers are at risk of a dropping credit score.

On May 5, 2025, the Department of Education (ED) released a “Request for Institutions to Provide Repayment Information to Former Students to

Some 8% of student loans in the first three months of the year were 90 or more days delinquent versus 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, most other types of borrowing troubles were largely steady in the first quarter relative to the end of 2024.