Rates on federally subsidized student loans will double on Monday, adding yet another financial burden for millions of college students — but Congress may act soon to reverse the hike.
Lawmakers in Washington are set to meet on July 10 to consider if the higher 6.8 percent rate can be rolled back.
In 2007, Congress set the rate at 3.4 percent and scheduled it to expire last year — but the presidential campaign and already increasing student debt swayed Congress to extend the deadline until June 30.
The student debt rate was $550 billion in 2007, and has since increased to just under $1 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“It brings a concern, knowing it was gonna be difficult already to pay for school,” says New York native Steven Hernandez. The 17-year-old, who plans to attend Hunter College in the fall, adds, “Now I definitely have to get a job. It just makes it harder now that I have to juggle work and school.”
For graduates with $85,000 of debt, the higher rate will add $140 a month to their bill over 10 years .