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A week has passed now since Federal Student Loan rates doubled. And as congress still debates fixing the issue, others start looking at what the new status-quo may mean to Texas students.
Laura Isensee, KUHF Public Radio
It’s summer break and a holiday weekend. So students heading to college in the fall might have missed some big news this week. The interest rate doubled for a common federal student loan.
Because Congress didn’t act, the interest rate for one kind of student loan is going up.
“Prior to July 1, those rates were at 3.4 percent.”
Now the rate’s doubled.
“On July 1st, they moved up to 6.8 percent.”
That’s Megan McClean. She’s a director with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Before students panic, she points out this impacts just undergraduate students who take out a certain kind of loan.
“Subsidized student loans.”
They’re also known as subsidized Stafford loans. They make up about a quarter of all federal loans to students.
“So subsidized student loans are where the federal government pays the interest while students are in school. And they are a need based loan. The student’s need is taken into account.”
A student can apply if the cost of college is more than what their family can pay.
Next year in Texas almost half a million students are expected to get these federal subsidized loans. Now that the interest rate has doubled, how much will this cost them?
(Read & listen to more of this story at KUHF Public Radio)
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NATION & WORLD:
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- George W. Bush sees progress on immigration (Washington Post)
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