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Home Student Loans Federal Student Loans Interest Rates and Fees on Federal Student Loans
  • Contents
  • Federal Student Loan Interest Rates for the 2022 - 2023 Academic Year
  • Direct Stafford Loan Interest Rates
  • Fees on Direct Stafford Loans
  • Recommendations
  • Learn More About Federal Student Loans

Federal Student Loan Interest Rates and Fees

Photo of Elaine Rubin
By Elaine Rubin
Updated on October 1, 2022
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Summary: Interest rates on new federal Direct Stafford loans are fixed for the life of the loan. For loans taken out for the 2022 - 2023 school year, undergraduate students receive a 4.99% interest rate and graduate students receive a 6.54% interest rate. A fee of 1.057% is deducted from your loan before the funds are sent to your school.

Federal Student Loan Interest Rates for the 2022 - 2023 Academic Year

Interest rates are the same for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans (sometimes referred to as Direct Stafford Loans).

Undergraduate Student with Backpack Icon

Undergraduate Student

Federal Direct Stafford Loan

Interest rate: 4.99% fixed

Origination fee: 1.057% (loans disbursed Oct. 1, 2022 - Sept. 30, 2023)

Graduate Student with Briefcase Icon

Graduate Student

Federal Direct Stafford Loan

Interest rate: 6.54% fixed

Origination fee: 1.057% (loans disbursed Oct. 1, 2022 - Sept. 30, 2023)

Private Student Loan Rates

Variable rates starting at:

4.49% APR

Fixed rates starting at:

4.49% APR

Lowest APRs shown for Private Student Loans are available for the most creditworthy applicants for undergraduate loans, and include a 0.25% interest rate reduction while enrolled in automatic payments. Interest rates as of September 15, 2022.

Federal Student Loan Rates

For loans first disbursed July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023

4.99%

Undergraduate

6.54%

Graduate

7.54%

PLUS Loans

Direct Stafford Loan Interest Rates

Federal Interest Rates: Fixed
Award Year Direct Loans
(Undergraduate)
Direct Loans
(Graduate)
Direct PLUS Loans
(Parent and Graduate/Professional Student)
2021-2022  3.73% 5.28% 6.28%
2020-2021 2.75% 4.3% 5.3%
2019-2020   4.53% 6.08%   7.08%
2018-2019 
5.05%
6.6% 
7.6%
2017-2018 
4.45%
6%
7%
2016-2017 
3.76%
5.31%
6.31%
2015-2016 
4.29%
5.84%
6.84%
2014-2015
4.66%
6.21%
7.21%

For loans made up to 2013-2014 award year, it is best to contact the loan servicer to confirm the interest rate.

Fees on Direct Stafford Loans

The current fee on the Direct Stafford Loans is 1.057% * for loans disbursed (funds sent to your school) from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023.

fee history on direct stafford loans
Year
Total Loan Fees
2020-2021 (10/1/20 - 9/30/21)  1.057%
2019-2020 (10/1/19 - 9/30/20)  1.059%
2018-2019 (10/1/18 - 9/30/19)  1.062%
2017-2018 (10/1/17 - 9/30/18)  1.066%
2016-2017 (10/1/16 - 9/30/17)  1.069%
2015-2016 (10/1/15 - 9/30/16)  1.068%
2014-2015 (10/1/14 - 9/30/15)  1.073%
2014-2015 (7/1/14 - 9/30/14) 1.072%
2013-2014 (12/1/13 - 6/30/14) 1.072%

How fees affect the total loan cost

Loan fees are basically a form of up-front interest. For example, if your loan has a 10-year repayment term, a 4% fee is the about the same as an increase of about .875% to 1% in the interest rate. If your loan has a 30-year repayment term, a 4% fee is the same as an increase of about .334% to .5% in the interest rate.

Recommendations

  1. File the FAFSA every year to maintain eligibility for student aid.
  2. When you compare different types of student loans, make sure you understand the interest rates and fees before you borrow.
  3. If you’ve hit the limits on federal student loans, but you still need additional funds to complete your education, consider other funding options.
  4. When you file your federal income taxes, be sure to take the student loan interest deduction. You can deduct up to $2,500 total in federal and private student loan interest each year.

Learn More About Federal Student Loans

Subsidized Student Loans

Unsubsidized Student Loans

Undergraduate Student Loans

Health Professions Student Loans

Loan Limits

Filing the FAFSA

FAFSA Deadlines

Financial Aid for Graduate School

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    Edvisors (“Edvisors Network, Inc.”) provides independent advertising-supported platforms for consumers to search compare and apply for private student loans. Loan offers from participating lenders that appear on our websites are not affiliated with any college and/or universities, and there are no colleges and/or universities which endorse Edvisors’ products or services. Lender search results do not constitute an official college preferred lender list. Edvisors receives compensation from lenders that appear on this site. This compensation may impact the placement of where lenders appear on this site, for example, the order in which the lenders appear when included in a list. Not all lenders participate in our sites and lenders that do participate may not offer loans to every school.

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