May 18, 2013
Congress may have averted a doubling of interest rates on millions of new federal student loans, but the fix is only for a year -- and that leaves students on edge over whether they'll face a similar increase next summer.
Faith Nebergall, who attends Indiana University, says it's scary and unfair for students to be left in the dark about how much money they might owe.
Her student loans currently total upward of $20,000.
Under the agreement this past week, interest rates on new subsidized Stafford loans will remain at 3.4 percent. That's estimated to save 7.4 million students about $1,000 each on the average loan, which is usually paid off over 10 or more years.
A year from now, the interest rate is scheduled to rise to 6.8 percent.
