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Loan Interest Rate Differences Between School and Fed

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:19 pm
by Lawschool305
Can anyone explain to me why some schools have interest rates for the unsubsidized loan and the Grad Plus loan which are 1-2 percent higher than what the government lists the rates as on the website?

I see online that the direct unsubsidized is 5.31% and the Direct Plus is 6.31%. Do we pay these rates or the rates listed at schools which could be as high as 7% for direct unsub and 8% for Direct Plus??

Re: Loan Interest Rate Differences Between School and Fed

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:01 pm
by Nebby
Lawschool305 wrote:Can anyone explain to me why some schools have interest rates for the unsubsidized loan and the Grad Plus loan which are 1-2 percent higher than what the government lists the rates as on the website?

I see online that the direct unsubsidized is 5.31% and the Direct Plus is 6.31%. Do we pay these rates or the rates listed at schools which could be as high as 7% for direct unsub and 8% for Direct Plus??
You pay whatever the government says. Perhaps the school hasn't updated their website yet, as these rates change at least once a year.

Re: Loan Interest Rate Differences Between School and Fed

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:07 pm
by studentloanplanner
Off the top of my head I believe grad unsub staffords have a fixed 3.6% margin above the 10 year treasury bond rate set every summer when they lock it in for the year ahead. Grad Plus is a 4.6% margin on the same benchmark. Since 10 year is currently far higher than last summer 2016, I'd expect about 6.5% for staffords and 7.5% for grad plus for next fall. Mod edit: you're not allowed to promote your own offsite materials outside of the free help from the professionals forum.