Compute Your Reduced College Cost

Press Release

Compute Your Reduced College Cost

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, passed by the Congress earlier this month, was signed into law today. The new law will help millions of college students and their families pay for the high cost of their education. To compute your savings, use the calculator at:

http://edlabor.house.gov/college.

"I am extremely proud that the Congress, under Democratic leadership, has fulfilled our promise to make college more affordable and accessible for families in Wisconsin and throughout the nation," said Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin whose district includes the UW-Madison, UW-Whitewater, UW-Rock, UW-Baraboo/Sauk County, Edgewood College, Beloit College, and MATC.

The new law provides the single largest increase in college aid since the GI Bill. It does so at no new cost to taxpayers, by cutting the subsidies paid by the federal government to lenders in the student loan industry.

Nationally, 6.8 million students who take out need-based federal student loans each year will see the interest rates on their loans halved over the next four years. Once the new law is fully implemented, students in Wisconsin will see an estimated savings of $4280 over the life of their loan at a 4-year school.

About 5.5 million students who receive Pell Grant scholarships each year will see an immediate increase of $490 in their maximum Pell scholarship in the next year alone, and an estimated increase of $1090 over the next five years. This will increase the purchasing power of the Pell Grant-raising the scholarship from $4,050 in 2006 to $5,400 by 2012.

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