Federal Student Loan Rates Going Up
Written by Tariq on June 1, 2026
Federal student loan rates are edging up next year, but that shouldn’t be surprising, experts said. Elevated inflation has pushed Treasury yields higher as investors increasingly forecast the Federal Reserve’s next rate move to be an increase instead of a cut. Government student loan rates are determined by the Treasury’s May auction of 10-year notes plus a fixed margin set by Congress. Last month’s auction produced a 10-year yield of 4.47%, up from 4.34% in 2025.
The jump in the 10-year yield pushed up federal student loan rates for families planning to take out a federal student loan for the 2026-27 academic year, experts said. Rates on these loans are fixed for the life of the loan. “The rate increase is what we call 10 basis points or a tenth of 1%, a relatively de minimis amount, but it still adds to the cost of education,” said Jack Wallace, director of government and lender relations at student loan refinancer Yrefy.
Using the 4.47% 10-year Treasury yield from May’s auction and adding the margin for each loan type, rates are expected to be:
- Undergraduate loans: 6.52% (4.47% + 2.05%), up from 6.39% for 2025-26
- Graduate loans: 8.07% (4.47% + 3.60%), up from 7.94%
- Parent PLUS loans: 9.07% (4.47% + 4.06%), up from 8.94%
Source: USA Today
WDKX Holiday Stream