Student loan interest rates are set to double July 1st if congress doesn't act soon.
/ Colby Gallagher
ALBANY -- Student loan interest rates are set to double July 1st if congress doesn't act soon; it’s no surprise students aren’t in favor of the change.
"I think it's bogus. It's not good,” said student, Jerry Turner.
Students, like Turner, teachers and faculty Fox 31 spoke with are on the same page in their opinion of what could be a devastating blow to those with student loans.
While the interest rate is currently at 3.4%, cut in half by congress in 2007, the July 1st expiration date is steadily approaching.
President Obama surprised the public on Tuesday by revealing he and the first lady didn't pay off their student loans until eight years ago a fact that some students see as encouraging.
"I think that, actually, will send a better message letting people know that our president had student loans and that he's human, that it's okay to have a student loan," said Kimberly Broner.
Others, like Joey Davis, see this to be disheartening for the every-day person.
“For the average person it's just going to be an ongoing life-long bill."
There is one thing that everyone seems to agree on, however, a higher dropout rate.
“I think it's going to affect the whole dropout rate here at Albany Tech," said Turner.
Davis agreed, saying, "Students that are halfway finished, they're going to run into that exact problem, the financial aid problem, and it might cause the dropout rate to end up being higher than it actually is, already."
Every year students make the walk to the admissions center to sign up for their classes, but with the rate set to double, will this be the road less taken? Broner seems to think so.
"People will just think twice before even coming back to school."
Some students feel it is a lose-lose situation where they can't get a decent salary without a degree, but they can't get a degree without a steady income.
President Obama is urging congress to interfere before the deadline to stop this potential student crisis, but so far no decision has been made.
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