There are federal Stafford loans, federal PLUS loans and certified private loans.

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In addition to her legislation, Gillibrand said Sunday she would push to stop interest rate hikes set to go into effect in July for federal Stafford loans.

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Most federal loans now carry interest rates of 6.8% or 7.9%, versus a rate of 2.875% on federal Stafford loans in May 2005, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the financial-aid website FinAid.org.

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