Interest rates on federal student loans will see an increase this summer unless Congress acts to keep them at their current place.
The House of Representatives passed a $5.9 billion bill Friday that will keep interest rates low.
If the Senate votes down the measure or does not act in time, then college students can look for their loan rates to double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent starting July 1.
“It’s going to make things a lot harder for incoming freshmen,” said Brandon Craven, a senior mass communication major. “More people may drop out because the interest rates are doubling.”
Craven worries potential students might not come in at all. He said if the interest rates double, then students might weigh the benefits and consequences and either not go to college or go to a trade school instead.
Many students are dependent on these student loans and their low interest rates so they can get a college education.
Some students don’t see an alternative to federal student loans to pay for school, and many are concerned with what Congress will decide.
“It will effect us all,” said Tanishia Pearson, a senior communication studies major from Delhi. “I think it’s wrong.  If you want people to go to college and get an education, then you have to make it affordable.”
The bill, which would avert the doubling of interest rates, has received veto threats from the president because it will raid dollars from the health prevention fund.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has proposed a plan to fund the measure by raising taxes on the highest earners in the country.