IOWA CONGRESSMAN RANDY FEENSTRA HAS INTRODUCED LEGISLATION TO HELP ASPIRING COLLEGE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE FULL COST AND IMPLICATIONS OF TAKING OUT STUDENT LOANS.
THE STUDENT TRANSPARENCY FOR UNDERSTANDING DECISIONS IN EDUCATION NET TERMS (STUDENT) ACT WOULD PROVIDE STUDENT LOAN APPLICANTS WITH AN ESTIMATE OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF INTEREST THEY WOULD PAY BASED ON A STANDARD 10-YEAR REPAYMENT PLAN DURING OR PRIOR TO ACCEPTING A LOAN.
SENATORS JONI ERNST AND CHUCK GRASSLEY HAVE INTRODUCED COMPANION LEGISLATION IN THE U.S. SENATE.
FEENSTRA SAYS WHEN STUDENTS CONSIDER THE TOTAL COST OF A COLLEGE DEGREE, INTEREST PAYMENTS ON STUDENT LOANS SHOULD BE A TRANSPARENT COMPONENT OF THEIR FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS.
CURRENT LAW DOES NOT REQUIRE THE DISCLOSURE OF THE TOTAL INTEREST AMOUNT THAT A STUDENT LOAN APPLICANT WOULD PAY BASED ON THE APPLICABLE REPAYMENT PLAN.
AS A RESULT, MANY STUDENTS ARE NOT AWARE OF THE ACTUAL AMOUNT THEY WILL END UP PAYING OVER THE LIFE OF A LOAN.
