Until june 2002, the simple interest rate on stafford loans to college students was 5.39% while the student was still in college. how much interest would a student pay on a $1,500 loan for 2 years?

Principal amount of loan taken by a student = $1500
Rate of interest charged by the college = 5.39%
Time for which the loan was taken = 2 years
Then
Interest = Principal * Rate of interest * Time
             = 1500 * 5.39% * 2
             = 1500 * (5.39/100) * 2
             = 15 * 5.39 * 2
             = 161.70 dollars
So the amount of interest that the student needs to pay is $161.70.I hope the procedure is clear enough for you to understand.

So you'd do 1,500 × 5.39 × 2 to get 16170, and move the decimal two places to the left. and your answer would be $161.70 or $162.