NY Senator Charles Schumer's New Plan

(with Sen Charles Schumer, Craig Camara closest to foreground)

On Monday, May 19,  NY Sen. Charles Schumer spoke on Hofstra’s Campus to unveil a proposal aimed at reducing student loan debt. I received a great opportunity to attend the speech and stand behind the senator as he gave his speech as well as speak to the media after the speech and tell them my story. Under Sen. Schumer’s plan, students would be able to restructure their federal loan debt to a much more manageable interest rate, allowing them more financial mobility. While the average interest rate for most students with federal student loans is hovering around 7% (with some going as up as high as 9%) Sen. Schumer’s plan would allow students to lower that to about 3.8%.

As a student graduating with a lot of student loan debt, this was a very reassuring message to hear for me. Coming out of college while not currently employed and staring down potentially hundreds of dollars in payments per month is certainly a terrifying notion. Being able to restructure my debt down to a much more manageable interest rate is definitely reassuring to hear. I loved my time here at Hofstra and I feel the education I received, in addition to putting me in a good position to land a strong job was well worth taking out my student loans to fund my education. Being able to much more easily pay off those loans after graduation is really going to help me out and get me on my feet. -Craig Camara, '14