MURFREESBORO, Tenn (WMOT) -- Students returning to Tennessee’s college campuses next month still have reason to hope they won’t see their student loan interest rates double this fall.
Interest rates for Stafford subsidized federal student loans rose July 1 from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. But Meghan McClain of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators says there’s still reason to believe Republicans and Democrats will find a compromise on the issue of student loan interest rates.
“From what we have heard, there are negotiations still continuing at this point, so to us that’s a positive sign that July 1 has come and gone but people have not forgotten about the issue and are continuing to discuss it.”
McClain says that the good news for students in need of assistance is that – in spite of steep sequestration cuts to many federal programs - Pell Grants and most other forms of student aid have been fully funded for the coming school year.