{mosads}By accessing the tool on the bureau’s website, visitors can compare several potential colleges; the agency said more than 7,500 are in its database. Then, the tool provides the average tuition for each school coupled with the average amount of grants and scholarships awarded by each.
The tool then lays out how large the monthly bill would be in order to pay off the student loans in 10 years, as well as displaying how many $50 textbooks the amount would buy.
The CFPB is rolling out the tool, which is still being tested, as college acceptance letters begin to show up in mailboxes nationwide.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a pending spike in interest rates on federally subsidized student loans. Under a 2007 law, the fixed interest rate on Stafford federal subsidized loans was halved to 3.4 percent from 6.8. However, that reduction is set to expire on July 1, and Democrat are pushing to renew the cut for another year.
Republicans are airing concerns about how the extension would be paid for, which they estimate could cost $6 billion.