I’m a recent college graduate and I payed for my education with student loans. It sucks that I have to pay back that much money, but I’m not as bad off as current or future students if current financial aid laws concerning student loans aren’t changed.
CBS News is reporting that the Subsidized Stafford Loan interest rate is about to go up to 6.8 percent from its current 3.4 percent rate. This change is due to go into effect on July 1. The change would put the Subsidized Stafford loan on par with the interest rate of the unsubsidized Stafford Loan which is currently at 6.8 percent.
There have been some movements to extend the 3.4 percent interest rate, but the current political climate in Washington coupled with it being an election year makes it hard for much of anything to get done.
Some have taken to twitter to discuss the rate hike:
#FYI The interest rates on the subsidized Stafford Loan is scheduled to double July 1 from 3.4 to 6.8
The interest rate on the subsidized Stafford Loan is about to double! I’m graduating right on time.
#Congress DOUBLES the interest rate on student loans. http://t.co/CLCsXNH4 #Gov getting desperate if kids are the solution to the #deficit.
If you had a Stafford student loan (Sally Mae etc) they are doubling your interest rate to 8.3% in a matter of months and not telling you.
Politics definitely play into the current situation, but Daniel Maxey rightly points out the problems with the apathetic culture in college. Trust me, you’re going to care once you graduate and have to start paying it off.
ENGAGEMENT GAP?! 20m+ students in #HigherEd, yet only 130,000 letters for no increase in #finaid interest? http://t.co/mctQ4JAN
If you don’t like this, contact your representative. Sitting around hoping the government takes care of this problem itself isn’t going to fix it. Take a cue from the ACTA protests in January. If you make a big enough stink, people in Washington listen.