Obama Student Loan Plan Nearing End

WASHINGTON -- Borrowers hoping to consolidate their student loans through a special program created by President Barack Obama last year have just until Saturday to apply.

To much fanfare, Obama used executive authority in October to launch a short-term initiative to allow borrowers to consolidate multiple loans into a direct government loan – and to knock off as much as a half percentage point from their interest rate in the process. The window to apply opened in early 2012 and ends Saturday.