The federal Department of Education last week froze two Obama-era changes in student loan programs aimed to protect students against predatory for-profit schools. The first program allowed students to have their loan debt erased if the school acted fraudulently or otherwise cheated the student. The second program, known as the Gainful Employment Mandate, cut off federal loan funds for colleges whose graduates did not earn enough money to pay off their loans. The loan discharge rules were set to go into effect on July 1. Read more here.

The AAUW recently released a report titled, “Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans.” The report points to a side effect of women’s increased educational attainment in recent decades: College-educated women hold a disproportionate share of outstanding student loan debt. While the AAUW’s report focuses on women, it points out that most historically under-served college populations have seen their share of the debt pie rise at a higher rate than their share of diplomas.

While women receive 57% of bachelor’s degrees from American colleges and universities, they hold about 2/3 of outstanding student debt. The report cites several reasons for this:

• Women take out larger loans on average than do men; the average accrued student debt upon attainment of a bachelor’s degree is $1,500 higher for women than for men.
• Women with college degrees earn an average of 26% less than do college-educated men, leaving them with less income available to repay loans.
• For-profit institutions– which tend to leave their graduates with the worst debt outcomes– enroll women and minorities at higher rates.

Anyone borrowing for college needs to keep their likely career and salary trajectory in mind when deciding how much to borrow. The report also includes some institutional and policy recommendations for helping maintain access to higher education without creating undue burdens on students and graduates. The full report is available here.

The May Treasury Note auction is done; one of its results is an increase in student loan interest rates for the coming school year. Direct student loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) disbursed between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, will carry an interest rate of 4.45%, up from 3.76% in the current year. PLUS loan interest rates went up as well: graduate student PLUS loans will be at 6% and Parent PLUS loans will be at 7%.

The interest rate increase means a student taking out the maximum direct loan for next year will pay about $3.50 per month in additional interest on a 10-year payment plan after graduation on that loan. (A number of factors might make that higher or lower, including whether a portion of the loan was subsidized and whether any payments were made during the school years.)

Parents might be wondering if they can wring a few more dollars out of the system at this year’s 6.31% rate. The answer is probably not– and the headaches of doing so would likely cost more than the interest savings. But you might inquire with your school’s financial aid office just in case.

Here is a list of all interest rates for the coming year, as well as a link to loan fees.