Dive Brief:
- Rates for Stafford loans and parent Plus loans from the federal government will see lower interest rates for the 2015-16 school year.
- The Wall Street Journal reports Stafford loans for undergraduates will lower to 4.29% from 4.66%, for graduate students it will drop to 5.84% from 6.21%, and for parents it will go to 6.84% from 7.21%.
- Congress decided to peg the student loan interest rates to Treasury note yields in 2013 and the final auction for 10-year notes was down to 2.237% from 2.612% last year, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
Before 2013, Congress had set fixed student loan rates for all students and parents, with the rates subject to partisan politics. Rates briefly experienced a low in the mid-3% range during the recession as Congress attempted to make college borrowing more affordable for students, but when they were scheduled to more than double, legislators came up with the Treasury note plan. Compared to students taking out loans this academic year, the 2015-16 loan-takers will pay less for the same amount of money over the long term.