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To:
Student Activists
From: Ellynne Bannon, State PIRGs Higher Education Advocate
Date: February 5, 2002
**** Call to thank your Members of Congress for lowering
the cost of borrowing student loans ****
Late last month Congress passed the Johnson student loan interest
rate bill (S.1762). This legislation is an important step
in making college more affordable for millions of Americans.
S.1762 will lower interest rates on Federal student loans,
saving the typical student borrower $680 over the life of
their loan, even by conservative estimates.
Student loans have become a primary mechanism to financing
a college education. They bridge the financial gap between
a family's available resources, plus any grant aid, and the
total cost of education. Rising levels of student debt all
too frequently turn the dream of college into a nightmare
of debt. This proposal will help to prevent the cost of student
loans from outweighing the benefits of higher education.
New data
from the Department of Education shows that the average student
at a four-year public college graduates with $16,243 in federal
loan debt. At four-year private colleges the average debt
total is $17,613. In addition, thirty-three percent of all
borrowers graduate with more than $20,000 in debt.
Action:
Please take the time to call your representatives and thank
them for supporting the Johnson student loan interest rate
bill and for their commitment to make college more affordable.
You can contact your members of Congress via the Student Aid
Alliance Hotline, (800) 574-4AID.
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