President Obama outspoken on student loan rates
April 25, 2012
President Obama is speaking out about the impending increase in student loan interest rates at colleges around the country.
During recent campaign stops at universities in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa, the president urged Congress to freeze the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans. Interest rates are scheduled to nearly double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent if Congress doesn't act by July 1. The increase would affect almost 8 million borrowers.
According to Businessweek, the increase would affect some 7 million students. The White House said it would cost these students an additional $1,000, based on the average amount borrowed a year and the average time it takes to pay the loan.
"That would be a tremendous blow," Obama said. "And it's completely preventable."
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney also agreed that the interest rate should be left alone for now.
"Given the bleak job prospects that young Americans coming out of college face today, I encourage Congress to temporarily extend the low rate," Romney said in a statement.
While it remains to be seen whether or not Congress will act to keep the interest rate on these college loans low, mothers who want to pursue a degree should know that they can do so without incurring a large amount of debt. Grants for parents, scholarships for mothers and single mother scholarships can help student parents finance their college education without loans.
