美国大学生的贷款状况

Paying for college is about to get harder. Starting in July, interest rates on new student loans will rise to 6. 8%, from today's rate of 4. 7%. And interest rates on new loans that parents take out called PLUS loans will rise to 8. 5%. The bottom line is that getting your degree is getting even more expensive.

On a $20, 000 loan, students will be paying about $2500 more, just in interest payments over the life of the loan. And parents will have to put up $3, 000 more.

"This is going to prevent a lot of young adults from living independently , out of school, ur. . from being able to pay off their credit card debt, because we see credit card debt continuing to rise and adding more interest payments on to a student loan is gonna affect that. Parents are also gonna be in trouble. You are talking about supporting children in their twenties while saving and trying to retire. "

Whether you are still a student or you are a grad who's already strapped¹ with payments, you should consolidate². This will let you lock in today's lower interest rate while combining all your debts into one loan.

For more tips on how to avoid drowning in college debt, check out CNNMoney. com. I am Gerri Willis and this is" Five Tips".

1 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。