This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish
Student loans
and the interest that millions of Americans pay on them have been getting a lot
of attention recently. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit
cards.Interest rates for Direct Subsidized Student Loans could double to almost
seven percent on July first. Five years ago, Congress lowered the rates for
these government loans. But that law is set to expire. The president has called
for keeping the current 3.4 percent rate. The administration says more than
seven million students will be affected without an extension of that lower
rate.The government says the average cost of attending a public college was
almost thirteen thousand dollars in twenty ten. The total for private schools
was over thirty-two thousand. Americans owed eight hundred forty-five billion
dollars in student loans in twenty-eleven. Some reports say the amount is now
near one trillion dollars.President Obama has recently given speeches on several
college campuses. He said when he and his wife, Michelle, graduated from college
and law school, they had a "mountain of debt." He told students that college
tuition and fees have more than doubled since most of them were born. He noted
that the average student who borrows to pay for college now graduates with about
twenty-five thousand dollars in student loan debt.An extension of the lower rate
could cost the government six billion dollars. Republican presidential candidate
Mitt Romney supports an extension. Republican leaders in the House of
Representatives say they like the program. But they want to pay for it with
money from the new health care law. Democrats have proposed other ways to pay
for it, such as ending tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies. The website
edupass.org says most loans, grants and scholarships from public and private
sources in the United States are restricted to American citizens. American
schools that provide aid to international students are more likely to provide it
to graduate students than to undergraduates. Some students are supported by
their home university or government. A small number receive support from the
United States government. Employers, private sponsors and international
organizations also help some students pay for school. Edupass.org has listings
of colleges and universities that offer financial aid to foreign students.
Another helpful site about American higher education and financial aid is
educationusa.state.gov. For VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn Presutti. (Adapted
from a radio program broadcast 27Apr2012)
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