Stafford Loan Rates To Remain the Same

Good news for college students and their parents.  Our Federal government has once again done the right thing after writing bad legislation to makes us fill the government feed bag in new ways.

On June 29, 2012, Congress approved legislation to stop the interest rate on federal subsidized Stafford Loans from jumping from the current 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1, 2012, for new college borrowers. The rate had been scheduled to increase under provisions in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. The rate freeze is effective for one year.

Under the new legislation:

• Rates on subsidized Stafford Loans will remain at 3.4% for undergraduates for one more school year--until July 1, 2013.
• As of July 1, 2013, undergraduate students with a subsidized Stafford Loan will have a maximum of six years of in-school status when the federal government will pay the interest on the loan while the student is in school. (Previously, the government paid the interest for as long as it took a student to get a diploma.)

Information provided by Joe Arndt, Pres.  Arndt & Associates Financial Services,  8124 Big Bend Blvd. St. Louis, MO  63119  314-968-5467. www.arndtandassociates.com