Washington students — who will borrow as much as $1 billion next year in federal student loans — would face hundreds of dollars more in interest payments under the congressional budget bill.

The bill passed the Senate 51-50 last week and is expected to pass the House of Representatives a final time next month. It would cut $12.7 billion from student aid over five years, a figure that accounts for about one-third of the projected savings across all sectors of the economy.

Some of the savings would come through raising interest rates on student loans from a current floating rate of 5.3 percent to a fixed rate of 6.8 percent.

For an undergraduate who completes a degree with $20,000 in student loans, that would translate to an extra $300 a year in interest payments. For a medical student who graduates with $90,000 in loans, it would be an extra $1,350 a year in interest.

Parents who take out loans for undergraduate students also would get hit: their 6.1 percent floating rate, already slated to rise to 7.9 percent, would increase to an 8.5 percent fixed rate.

Most of the changes, which apply only to new loans, would take effect in July. Students generally are not required to pay interest on the loans until after they graduate.

In this state, about 140,000 low- and middle-income students rely on some form of financial aid and most have federal loans. At the University of Washington, 22,000 students get financial aid each year, including about 16,500 who get federal loans.

"The No.1 issue for students is 'How am I going to pay for this?' " said Lee Dunbar, the UW student-government president. "I think it's definitely going to negatively impact accessibility to a four-year education at the University of Washington."

At a time when people are applying for 2006 classes, UW administrators hope would-be students won't be deterred by the possible changes.

"We don't want families to panic or think that the costs are insurmountable," said Kay Lewis, the UW's director of student financial aid. "While there are some items of concern in this bill, we need to have families continue to assume they can use financial aid to help them afford to come to college."

The UW estimates it costs $16,000 a year for a student to attend, a price tag that includes room, board and tuition. Of those UW students who borrow under the federal program, the average undergraduate finishes with a $15,700 tab; the average graduate student finishes with a $33,000 tab; and the average medical-school graduate finishes with a $91,000 tab.

Supporters of the bill point to provisions that increase the cap on the amount that first- and second-year students could borrow, a planned crackdown on loan cheaters and a lowering in the subsidies that banks would receive. They say interest rates are on the rise anyway, and fixing rates now would remove future uncertainty.

Opponents, including Washington Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, say it's students who would be hit hardest.

"Sen. Murray is incredibly concerned about the impact of these cuts on students and affordability," said Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass.

Students in this state are expected to borrow $750 million to $1 billion through the federal loan program next year, said John Klacik, director of student financial assistance for the Higher Education Coordinating Board. The most common type of federal loans affected are called Stafford loans.

Of those who borrow, community-college students typically take out loans for $3,800 a year, and university students, $7,000 a year, he said.

At Western Washington University — where tuition, room and board costs $15,000 a year — 58 percent of undergraduate students borrow through the student-loan program, ending with an average debt level of $15,100 by the time they graduate.

Some Washington students are benefiting from a state program that gives education grants to low-income families. This year, eligibility was raised from families who earn 55 percent or less of the median income to families who earn 65 percent or less. But Dunbar, the UW student-government president, said more is needed.

"We are going to have to figure out ways to fund this at a state level," he said. "Without federal money, we are going to have to find some other way to maintain and increase accessibility."

Information from The Orlando Sentinel and The New York Times was included in this report. Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com

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