So our federal government has come up with a plan that avoids a national default on its financial obligations. Some people are cheering. If you’re a student loan borrower, though, not so much. In the name of deficit reduction, Congress has decided to eliminate subsidized federal loans for graduate students. While in school, the federal government has traditionally paid the interest for federal loans, providing an incentive to stay in school while keeping the actual cost of these student loans relatively low while you’re earning your degree. With interest subsidies eliminated, student borrowers will either have to pay the interest while they are full-time students, or have the interest added back to the loan principle. Either way, this drastically increases the cost of borrowing. Congress also eliminated a special credit for student borrowers who pay their bills on time.

All in all, the changes that are being rushed through Congress to the President’s desk will shift over $18 billion in borrowing costs to students over the next decade. Read more here: http://money.cnn.com/