Student loan interest rates set to double
By Daily Bruin
June 28, 2013 12:36 p.m.
This post was updated at 6:05 p.m.
Student loan interest rates are scheduled to double on Monday, after U.S. senators took a July 4 recess without taking action on the issue.
The federal subsidized Stafford loan interest rate is set to rise to 6.8 percent after a law that kept the rate at 3.4 percent expires next week.
The increased interest rate will only affect students who take out new loans, said Chris Harrington, associate director of federal governmental relations for the University of California Office of the President. Current students with loans will not pay the higher interest rate, he said.
Last year, members of Congress managed to reach a last-minute compromise two days before the July 1 deadline to extend the lower interest rate for another year.
Earlier this year, the House passed its own proposal to tie interest rates to market rates, but the two legislative houses did not reach a compromise on the issue.
“We’re going to continue to urge (Congress) to keep these interest rates low to ensure there are these protections for students,” Harrington said.
With the higher interest rate, about 7 million students nationwide will need to pay an additional $1,000, according to an estimate from the Obama administration.
[UPDATED at 6:05 p.m.: Congressman and former UC Regent John Garamendi said he was disappointed that Congress failed to act.
“Aren’t we taking enough money out of the pockets of people who just want a chance at a better life for themselves or their children?” Garamendi said in the statement.]
Compiled by Kristen Taketa, Bruin senior staff.
