03.26.09 | Stafford Loan Interest Rates
If you’ve been hearing conflicting reports on what the Stafford loan interest rate is, that’s because there is not just one universal Stafford loan rate out there.
There are essentially four different Stafford loan rates that you will see in 2009. Let’s clarify the Stafford picture for you.
Currently enrolled students have the following interest rates……
| School Year | Undergrad, Subsidized | Undergrad, Unsubsidized | Graduate Students |
| 2008-2009 | 6.0% | 6.8% | 6.8% |
Students whose loans are disbursed after July 1, 2009 will enjoy the rates below.
| School Year | Undergrad, Subsidized | Undergrad, Unsubsidized | Graduate Students |
| 2009-2010 | 5.6% | 6.8% | 6.8% |
As you can see Unsubsidized Stafford loans and Graduate Stafford loans will maintain their 6.8% interest rate. The one and only change is tied to the Subsidized Undergraduate Stafford loan, which will be falling to 5.6%.
Additional note: As these loans are fixed at the point of dispersement you will not have the luxury of getting a lower interest rate on your current loan(s).
For example, if you have a subsidized loan which you obtained for this spring semester you have a 6% interest rate attached to it. If you take out a another subsidized loan for the fall that loan will be at 5.6%. Your current 6% loan will not decrease because it is fixed. So over four years you could conceivably have four different interest rates attached to four loans susidized Stafford loans.
Five most recent Stafford loan help blog posts:
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