Local Students Worry About Rising Student Loan Rates

“Right now, I owe about $12,000 in student loans and that’s not even covering the upcoming year,” says Brandon Black.

Black is a junior majoring in finance at Georgia State University and has been frustrated about the talks in Congress.

“I don’t think it’s fair when we’re trying to further our education that we have to pay such outrageous, outrageous prices to excel in the global world we live in,” Black says.

The new bill sets undergraduate loans at 3.9 percent for now, but that’s expected to rise as the economy improves.

Sitting in the student lounge, Khadeeja Rayner, a freshman majoring in communications, is already worried about costs.

“Money was a concern for me that’s why I picked a public school instead of a private school,” Rayner says.

Marcus Avelino is also a freshman. The criminal justice major took out two loans and doesn’t want to take out any more.   

“I don’t think students should be worrying about that. They should worry about getting educated instead of having to pay for their education. They should be worried about getting educated I think.”

Under the new bill, interest rates could fluctuate, but would cap at 8.25 percent for undergraduate students.