Student Loan Rates Double After Congressional Inaction [View all]

[onehandle]

Source: Huffington Post/AP

WASHINGTON — College students taking out new loans for the fall term will see interest rates twice what they were in the spring – unless Congress fulfills its pledge to restore lower rates when it returns after the July 4 holiday.

Subsidized Stafford loans, which account for roughly a quarter of all direct federal borrowing, went from 3.4 percent interest to 6.8 percent interest on Monday. Congress' Joint Economic Committee estimated the cost passed to students would be about $2,600.

"The only silver lining is that relatively few borrowers take out student loans in July and early August. You really can't take out student loans more than 10 days before the term starts," said Terry Hartle, a top official with colleges' lobbying operation at the American Council on Education.

But that is little consolation for students taking summer classes or lawmakers facing stinging criticism for inaction.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/student-loan-double_n_3529166.html

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