Student Loan Rates Just Went Up --

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Good afternoon,
 
Last week, interest rates on new federal student loans jumped higher.

Interest rates for loans taken out between now and June 2015 will be:

4.66% for direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans for undergrads
6.21% for direct unsubsidized loans for grad/professional students
7.21% for Direct PLUS Loans for parents and grad/professional students
And the Perkins Loans rate remains fixed at 5%
Millions of students and families across the country have reviewed their financial aid offers and are deciding how to pay for college. We’ve updated our Paying for College tool with these new rates so you can have a better estimate of what your monthly payment might be after graduation.

Estimate your monthly payments after graduation: consumerfinance.gov/paying-for-college

With the increase in rates for federal student loans, a number of students have asked us whether they should consider private student loans. For most people, federal student loans are still a better deal than private student loans, so you'll want to take advantage of federal options first.

Thank you,

Rohit Chopra
Student Loan Ombudsman
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  

P.S. Not an aspiring college student? Forward this email to someone who could use this tool to estimate their monthly payments after college.