6 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2002
Lower loan rates help students who depend on financial aid
By Todd Smith Kansan staff writer
Lower interest rates on federal student loans and larger Pell grants could save some University of Kansas students more than $100 per year beginning this fall.
A grace period is offered to students who are just out of school and a deferment is a period of time that is offered to students who need extra time before they can pay back their loans.
"I owe a couple of thousand dollars and over 10 years that will be huge, so lowering the interest rate won't make it quite as bad," Reese said.
The federal student loan repayment rate decreased by more than 32 percent and according to a press release by the Department of Education, became the lowest rate in decades.
Josh Reese, Lawrence senior, said it was nice that the interest rate was lowered so he doesn't have to pay back so much money overall.
Stephanie Covington, associate director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, said the changes in federal student loans would affect about 8,000 University of Kansas students.
If the rate remains constant, borrowers repaying $10,000 in loan debt over the standard 10 years could save more than $1,100 in total interest compared with last year's rate, according to the press release.
The rate decreased to 4.06 percent for borrowers repaying loans issued after July 1998 from 5.99 percent last year, effective July 1.
For students who are in school, within the six month grace period or in deferment, the interest rate is even lower at 3.46 percent, down from 5.39 percent last year.
Covington said it was a good time for students graduating in the next year to consolidate their student loans.
"This is a really good rate, and students could lock in a fixed rate to guarantee that the interest on the loan will stay at this one rate," she said.
A fixed rate is determined by the weighted average of the current rates charged on the loan being consolidated,
The federal student loan repayment rate decreased by more than 32 percent and according to a press release by the Department of Education, became the lowest rate in decades.
rounded up to the nearest 1/8 percent.
She said unless students haven't paid past student loans or were not making satisfactory progress toward a degree, they could receive federal financial aid.
"A big myth is that if you make too much money you won't qualify for federal financial aid." Covington said.
Freshmen could borrow a federal direct loan maximum of $2,625 per year, sophoores could borrow $3,500 per year, juniors and seniors could borrow $5,500 per year, and graduate students can borrow $18,500 per year, she said.
Independent undergraduate students could borrow a maximum of $4,000 as freshmen and sophomores and $5,000 as juniors and seniors, Covington said.
Federal Pell grants will also receive a boost this fall. Students will be able to receive a maximum of $4,000 a year, up from $3,750 last year.
The number of Pell-grant recipients will increase to 4.5 million students, half a million more than before President Bush took office.
The increase is based on a formula established by a federal statute that reflects changes in the economy over the past year.
Pell grants are money awarded by the government to undergraduate students, and unlike loans, they do not have to be paid back.
2,786 KU students received Pell grants for the last school year, Covington said. She said she did not have figures for the coming year.
Contact Smith at tsmith@kansan.com. This story was edited by Kristin Keeney.
Arts organizer appointed to oversee Trade Center memorial creation
NEW YORK (AP) — A longtime organizer of cultural events in Lower Manhattan was appointed Tuesday to oversee the creation of a memorial to victims of the World Trade Center attack.
Anita Contini, 58, a vice president for global sponsorships and events marketing for Merrill Lynch, will be vice president and director of memorial, cultural and civic programs for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the city-state agency charged with rebuilding the area.
The size and location of the monument
to the more than 2,800 victims of the Sept.11 attack has been a contentious issue, with some relatives wanting the entire 16-acre site to become a memorial. On Saturday, Gov. George Pataki promised there would be no commercial development on the one-acre patches each tower occupied.
"I know that there are many viewpoints and different views." Contini said.
Before joining Merrill Lynch in 1999, Contini directed the arts and events program at the World Financial Center since 1986. In 1973, she founded Creative Time Inc., a nonprofit arts organization,
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