On Aug. 2, 2011, the United States Congress signed the Budget Control Act to end the debt ceiling crisis. This act changed several graduate student loan processes, to take effect on July 1, 2012.
Under this act, graduate student loans will now be entirely unsubsidized. Previously, grad students were eligible for $8,500 in unsubsidized laons.
Jon Gruett, director of financial a id at Webster University, said the amount of governmental aid for grad students will not change. With these changes, graduate students are now responsible for all the interest their loans accrue over time.
The Budget Control Act also ended borrower repayment incentives, which encouraged students to promptly repay their loans. Gruett said that while Webster cannot change a law once it has been put in place, the administration is aware of the inconvenience these changes make for students.
“The university is regularly in communication with officials in Washington, D.C. to express our concerns and stances on a variety of issues,” Gruett said. “We do let our institutional voice be heard.”
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