Loans Back in the Spotlight

By Libby A. Nelson. When President Obama made a speech from the Rose Garden on Friday about student loans, it seemed like history was repeating itself. The same thing happened at this time last year: with weeks to go before a scheduled increase in the student loan interest rate, the issue turns into a high-profile political fight. As Obama acknowledged: “If this sounds like déjà vu all over again, that’s because it is.”
Last year, the interest rate on newly issued subsidized Stafford student loans -- loans that are available only to students with financial need, and that don’t accumulate interest while students are enrolled in college -- was scheduled to double to 6.8 percent on July 1. Read more...