Student Loan Rates Double After Congressional Inaction

[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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The GOP is winning the future.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Don't know how many petitions I signed regarding this

Clearly, no one cares what any of us think.

We really do not live in a Democracy.

[Mr. David]

2. GOP has nothing left except for the racists, bigots, and the 1%'ers.

and that's about 15% of the population and shrinking?

[totodeinhere]

5. Both parties are in the pockets of the 1%'ers. n/t

[Pterodactyl]

11. AND there are bigot Democrats, too.

[bamacrat]

3. They can't win the future fairly so they will create it.

Doing this can/will dissuade many young people from going to college, which means more uninformed masses which equate to more republicans. Make them if you can't win them I guess.

[MjolnirTime]

4. The GOP is ending their future.

[PopeOxycontinI]

6. Then they'll wonder...

why they can't win the "youth vote". Shitheads

[Ed Suspicious]

7. Just fucking great. I just finished year two with three years left of my undergrad career.

Middle aged and never found a foothold in the corporate world so I thought in my late thirties I'd go back and make something of myself for my family. I rely heavily on both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans. This will make it harder on my family. I noticed during the last election season there was a sense of urgency to get this issue ironed out so as not to put an additional burden on students. That sense of urgency no longer exists.


I just want to say, FUCK YOU elected representatives one and all. Fuck you.

[Igel]

9. 5-year bachelor's?

Oddly, they used to be fairly rare. They became more common in the '90s and '00s. The school I went to only in something like the mid '90s started adding a year onto the regular time to degree for undergrads. Too many were taking the extra year.

In some cases it was a bad change of major. In others, it was because of dissimilar double majors. Finally schools started having maximum #s of credits.

One downside seldom mentioned: average amount of student indebtedness increased significantly as a result. We look at the increase and pretend that it's just because costs per year have gone up.

It's hard with a family. But 4 years instead of 5 gives you one less year's worth of debt and one more year's worth of earning.

[Ed Suspicious]

10. It's good advice to be sure...

Unfortunately for me I can, realistically, only handle 12-15 credits per semester with family and work commitments. I am in the University Honors Program so gpa maintenance is important to me... and I know my limit. If I push it, my gpa suffers, my work suffers, my home life suffers. I also struggle with ADD so that really puts a cap onto what I can handle. Additionally, I tested into "Math 100" which is really like Pre-Algebra, so I was seven credits down there before I even started on college level mathematics. Loads of excuses, I know. (Getting a B.A. so 4 semesters of second language as well) That I'm able to do this the way it is against all odds. I just don't see much of a path to a 4 year B.A. for me personally.

[Jefferson23]

8. Republicans, they truly hate people, kids too. Disgraceful.

If you're not a corporation, drop dead.

K&R

[kelliekat44]

12. Ahhhhhh....but don't forget to look over here at Snowden....stop worrying about important things. n