Loan change could hurt students

If you have student loans, experts have some advice for you: Consolidate them now.

If you don’t, you might cost yourself thousands of dollars. President Bush and congressional Republicans want to stop student borrowers from locking in fixed interest rates — now at an all-time low of 3.37 percent — and force them to ride the variable-interest roller coaster, which is allowed to peak as high as 8.25 percent.

What does that mean for the average West Virginia college student? Well, say you graduated from West Virginia University in 2003. You have an average of $20,145 in student loan debt, according to college specialist group Thomson Peterson’s. If you consolidate at today’s rates, you could lock in today’s ultra-low interest rate for up to 20 years, paying a total of $7,730 in interest over the life of your loan.

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