New York College Students Asking Lawmakers To Block Rate Increase On Loans
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Some students who take out federally subsidized loans are asking Washington lawmakers to block a rate increase scheduled to take place this July.
Caitlin Semo says she receives almost every kind of financial aid, including the Stafford Loan. On July 1st, that interest rate will double by almost seven percent unless congress takes action. But the NYU sophomore said that increase will have a major impact on her middle-class family.
"[My parents] can afford to send me here right now," Semo told WCBS 880's Monica Miller, "but I don't want my parents to pull from their 401(k)s, which my mother might potentially do. I'm a sophomore, and I've already accumulated $70,000 worth of student-loan debt."
WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported
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A Stony Brook University junior agreed that with an increased interest rate, his family simply couldn't afford it.
"My family is already incurring the cost of my brother who recently graduated from Stony Brook," the student said. "And I'm going to be at Stony Brook for another two years, and once I graduate my sister moves on to college."
President Obama and some Democrats in the Senate are trying to extend the reduced interest rate to 3.4 percent. However, Republicans who oppose the legislation say taxpayers can't afford it.
More than 7,000,000 students depend on federally subsidized Stafford Loans.
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