Help Us Prevent Student Loan Interest Rates from Doubling!

ASUN and the Student Money Management Center have been working diligently with the Association of Big Ten Students in accordance with National Campus Leaders to battle the threat of doubling student interest rates.

Yesterday marked the deadline for a hike in student loan interest rates, an increase affecting 7 million students. Congress left town Friday without taking action to prevent the interest rates on new subsidized Stafford student loans from doubling 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1. Subsidized Stafford loans are low-interest rate loans available to students with financial need.

To put the magnitude of this issue into perspective, consider that the typical UNL student has around $21,000 in student loan debt.

If all those loans are subsidized and the student takes the standard 10-year repayment plan, the interest they will pay over the life of the loan jumps from $3,400 at 3.4% to $8,000 at 6.8%.

When faced with this issue last summer, Congress postponed the increases for one year. Lawmakers went home this time without an agreement on a long-term solution, though the Senate on July 10 will vote on a proposal that would extend the 3.4 percent interest rate for another year.

White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said the Senate "will take action in the next few weeks to fix this problem. We are confident they will get there, and that the solution will include retroactive protection for students who borrow after July 1 so that their student loan rates don't double."

Source: pbs.org

  Take Action!

Help us ensure that Congress does find a solution that protects student borrowers by making your voice heard!

Contact our State Representatives and let them know how truly important it is for students to have access to an affordable education.

Contact Nebraska State Senator Deb Fisher
Contact Nebraska State Senator Mike Johanns
Contact Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
Contact Nebraska Congressman Lee Terry
Contact Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith
Other Senate Contacts
Other Representative Contacts

Example Email

You can copy and paste the following text in order to quickly and easily communicate with our government officials.

Dear [NAME]:

My name is [NAME]. I am a [CLASS STANDING] at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln studying [MAJOR].

I, on behalf of the students of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, urge you to take action to prevent an interest rate increase on subsidized Stafford loans from 3.4% to 6.8%. If Congress doesn’t act soon the doubling of these rates will make it harder for millions of students to have access to an affordable, quality college education.

If Congress allows the Stafford interest rates to double it will put an increased economic burden on University of Nebraska - Lincoln students. If UNL is made less affordable due to Congress’ negligence the students that will suffer the most are lower to middle class students. Making college less affordable will have a lasting negative impact on our nation's people.

Due to the damage that the doubling of the Stafford interest rates will do to our campus community, we demand Congress act now to protect students and vote not to double the interest rates. If Congress is as interested in investing in the future of America as both sides claim, then invest in us, the students, by voting against the impending doubling of Stafford interest rates.

Thank you for your service and for fighting for the best interests of Nebraskans.

Sincerely,

[NAME]

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE SOLUTIONS CONGRESS IS CONTEMPLATING