Most student loans unaffected by upcoming increase in rates
You know an issue has reached critical mass when it’s the topic of late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon’s “Slow Jam the News” segment, and none other than President Obama shows up to help.
The subject of the slow jam? On July 1, the interest rate for some new federal student loans is scheduled to increase to 6.8% from 3.4%. President Obama wants to extend the lower rate for another year. Republicans in Congress say they support the extension, but disagree with the president’s plan to pay for it.
Many graduates are struggling with unaffordable loan payments, so any suggestion that loans will become more expensive is worrisome to a lot of college students. But a lot of information that has been circulated about the pending rate increase is misleading, if not downright wrong, says Kalman Chany, author of Paying for College Without Going Broke. If you have student loans, or plan to borrow, click here to learn what you need to know:
