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Temple University Financial Director Explains The Negative Impact The Debt Deal Has On Student Loans

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The deal on raising the debt limit means the country has enough money to pay its bills. But it could mean that some college students will need more to pay theirs.

Grad students might think of it as robbing Peter to pay Paul:

"Most of the professional students -- law and medical -- and a lot of our graduate students were able to get subsidized loans for a portion of the amount they were borrowing. So this will change that starting July 1st of next year."

Temple University financial aid director John Morris says the interest on federal student loans now will begin to accrue while they're still in school, and no longer will be held off until graduation.

That windfall for the government is earmarked to keep the Pell Grant program dishing out funds for millions of lower-income college students.

But even for those undergrads, there's now no bonus for paying back your Stafford loan on time, over time. The debt deal gets rid of the half-percent rebate on the repayment fee.

Reported By Ian Bush, KYW Newsradio

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