Grading H.R. 4283
Michelle Singletary's Washington Post article grades The College Access & Opportunity Act. (The Washinton Post site requires registration to read the article, but it's free.)
ï Thumbs down (way down) for a move that would change from fixed to variable the interest rate for consolidation loans. This is probably the most controversial issue in the bill. Anyone who has taken out student loans should be paying attention to this proposal. Right now, student borrowers can bundle their various loans into one low, fixed-rate loan that can be stretched out as long as 30 years. But we all know that interest rates are not likely to stay as low as they have been recently. If the provision passes and the loan rate is changed to variable, a lot of people will pay thousands of dollars more on their consolidated student loans.
Final verdict? "Overall, there are some good proposals in this bill, but it shouldn't be passed as is because there are enough provisions that either don't do enough for students and graduates or increase their costs."
A big thanks to Michelle Singletary for tirelessly talking about student loan consolidation (in particular the one-time consolidation rule) to so many different media sources. In addition to the Washington Post and syndicated columns around the country, she can now also be heard on NPR's Tuesday show "Day to Day".