By Whitley Kilcrease

College students across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief when Congress passes a measure to freeze the student loan rates at 3.4 percent, rather than 6.8 percent, until July 2013.

However, for Troy University students, there are still changes to come.

Effective Fall Semester 2012, the financial aid office is reporting on the school’s website that graduate or doctorated Nursing Practitioner students will no longer be eligible for Federal Subsidized loans beginning July 1. The graduate loan limit remains at $20,500 for a Federal Unsubsidized loan.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” Melanie Curtis, a Troy student from Sweetwater, said. “I know there wasan’t any kind of notification about it when I filled out my FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid].”

There are also loan fee increases, which mean more fees will be taken out of a loan before a student receives his or her funds. Fees for federal loans will increase to one percent while fees for Federal Plus loans will increase to four percent.