Higher education advocates released new data today showing that an anticipated increase in the student loan interest rate would cost Iowa students $250 million per year. The increase would affect federally subsidized Stafford loans, which are provided to almost 7.5 million low and moderate-income students nationwide each year. If Congress does nothing, then beginning on July 1st, the interest rate will double from 3.4% to 6.8% on new student loans.

"In today's economy, students need a college education to get ahead," said Sonia Ashe, Iowa PIRG Advocate. "Doubling the interest rate for student loans would make this goal harder to achieve for thousands of Iowans."

"I'm already going to graduate with a mountain of student debt," said Jessica Tobin at the University of Iowa. "If Congress lets the interest rate double, then I'm looking at even bigger loan payments and it's going to take longer for me to get on my feet financially after I graduate."

The average student borrower already graduates with over $25,000 in student loans. On average, the doubling of the interest rate would add approximately $1,000 for every year a student takes out a loan, adding up to more than $4,000 over a four-year education.

To stave off the rate hike, Congress needs to act by July 1st to maintain the existing interest rate. Without action, interest rates on these loans will double, resulting in significant new debt for future graduates. A vote on the issue is schedule in the United States Senate for Tuesday.

"Student debt can change the shape of a young person's life," said Laurie Wolf, a financial aid officer at Des Moines Area Community College. "When students graduate with high levels of student debt, it can force them to postpone major life events like marriage, parenthood, and home ownership. It's important to minimize that debt, including keeping interest rates low, in order to reduce the impact it has on the lives of our graduates."

Today, the Center for American Progress, Campus Progress, and the USAction Education Fund will release reports detailing how an increase in the Stafford student loan interest rate would impact a number of states. These reports will offer new broad analysis, state statistics, stories of people who could be impacted, and support from student body presidents and campus newspapers.

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Iowa PIRG, the Iowa Public Interest Research Group, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.

Study Islam, Religion and Politics, War, Theology?on us!

(Columbia, Mo.) ? RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS invites journalists in the to apply to its Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program. The scholarships give full-time journalists up to $5,000 to take any college religion courses at any accredited institution at any time.

Religion headlines are dominating news coverage?sex abuse, religion and politics, Islam in America, Post-9/11? now is the perfect time to dig deeper into today's hottest stories. More than 200 people have already taken advantage of RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS' Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program for Journalists.

Topics reporters have studied include : Islamic Movements, God & Politics, Christianity and Culture, Religious Tradition and Scientific Inquiry, Buddhism and Science, Violence and Liberation, Religion and Medicine and many more.

"It goes without saying I can't leave my social location behind when I write stories, but this course allowed me to be more aware of my own biases and prejudices, allowing me to be more cautious when I report about ethics and social issues, said Francisco Miraval a freelance writer who took the course "Ethical Perspectives on Justice and Peace" at Iliff School of Theology.

The scholarships can be used at accredited colleges, universities, seminaries or similar institutions.  Journalists can choose any religion, spirituality or ethics course. Scholarships cover tuition, books, registration fees, parking and other course-related costs. Online and travel classes are also eligible (as long as travel costs are part of the curriculum).

All full-time journalists working in the general circulation news media?including reporters, editors, designers, copy editors, editorial writers, news directors, researchers and producers?are eligible, regardless of their beat.

The next scholarship application deadline is June 15, 2012. Scholarships must be used within three academic quarters of their award date.

RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS is the world's only association for journalists who write about religion in the mainstream news media. The scholarships are offered through its non-profit arm, the Religion Newswriters Foundation, with funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

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RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS offers training and tools to help journalists cover religion with balance, accuracy and insight. Visit www.RNA.org to learn more about our RELIGION | LINK story ideas, Religion stylebook and primer, contests for religion reporting, annual conference and more.

HUNTINGTON, IN (05/02/2012)(readMedia)-- The 41st annual Huntington University Forester Night celebrated the accomplishments of students from across campus, as well as the recognition of the Foresters of the Year, the 2012 Outstanding Scholar Award, the Impact Initiative Scholarship and the Professor of the Year. The event was held May 1.

Sarah Johnson, a senior journalism and English major from Davenport, IA, was honored with the Outstanding Senior Award for English. The Outstanding Senior Awards are voted on by faculty. Recipients were presented plaques for their accomplishments at Forester Night.

Photos from the event are available online at http://www.huntington.edu/News-Releases/Home-Page-News/2012-Forester-Night-honors-students,-faculty/?__taxonomyid=200. Click on the photos to open and download a high-resolution image.

Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest, and Forbes.com has listed the university as one of America's Best Colleges. Additionally, Princeton Review has named the institution to its "Best in the Midwest" list. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington University is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in northeast Indiana. The university is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

For text of this and all Huntington University news releases, visit www.huntington.edu/news.

MOUNT VERNON, IA (05/01/2012)(readMedia)-- Christine Nguyen of Davenport was one of 18 Cornell students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the country's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, on April 21.

These students will have their names added to the permanent plaque in Cole Library listing all members elected to Cornell's chapter.

Election is based upon good character and a distinguished record of performance in courses that demonstrate a broad exposure to the liberal arts, i.e., the fine arts, humanities, languages, natural sciences and mathematics, and social sciences, as well as substantive work in areas outside the major. Phi Beta Kappa considers members of the top 15 percent of the senior class and the top five percent of the junior class. You can learn more about the Cornell chapter of Phi Beta Kappa here.

One of the 40 "Colleges That Change Lives," Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a national liberal arts college with a distinctive One Course At A Time (OCAAT) academic calendar. The OCAAT schedule provides students with intellectual immersion, academic focus, and unique freedom to shed the confines of the traditional classroom to study off-campus, pursue research, or accept an internship-all without missing out on other classes. Founded in 1853, the college's entire hilltop campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.