LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- College students will pay more for student loans as the interest rate is going up.

Congress is doubling the rate of subsidized Stafford loans.

UALR Senior Allen Kirby is taking out thousands of dollars in loans each semester in order to reach his dream of being a basketball coach.


"It affects how many hours you take. 12 hours is minimum. If you take 18 hours like I'm doing, you have to take out more on top of that," says Allen Kirby.

The cost of getting a college education is about to go up. Half of UALR undergraduates will be impacted by the rising interest rates of the subsidized Stafford loan.

Come July 1, Congress is increasing the interest rate from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Financial Aid Director Tammy Harrison says this will affect the students with the highest financial need.

"They tend to be available to lower class families those with greater financial need," says Harrison. "That reduction was only scheduled for five years and now schedule to go back to the old six point eight percent."

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, college seniors are graduating with a record high of 25 thousand dollars. That's five percent more than the class of 2009. Kirby plans on taking out more than that, but believes it's a good investment.

"Aside of the money, I would love to coach basketball," says Kirby. Congress decreased the student loan interest rate in 2007. Keeping the interest rates low was costing federal government more than three billion dollars a year.