Federal changes on student loans creating anxiety

From that amount, $1.3 billion would go to fill a shortfall in Pell Grants in 2012 and an additional $1 billion would go toward Pell Grants in 2013.

A draft bill in the House Appropriations Committee would leave the grace period alone but make changes to Pell Grants eligibility to cover the shortfall. Harkin's office said the House changes would make 500,000 current grant recipients ineligible.

The different approaches taken by the House and Senate committees would have to be reconciled before a final spending plan for 2012 is adopted.

Anabell Polloni, a senior at Rutgers in New Brunswick and former state board chairman of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, said most students are not aware of the changes Congress is making to loan programs.

"I had no idea about this and I'm extremely well-aware of what's going on. Everyone knows about the six-month grace period, and no one knows it's a possibility it might end. That's a complete shock," she said.

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(c)2011 The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)