During the campaign, Biden said he would support $ 10,000 in forgiveness. White House officials have indicated that it is also seeking to set an income threshold so that high-income borrowers are excluded from debt relief.
While the widespread cancellation of student loan debt could provide financial relief to millions of Americans, the implications of such a significant political move, intentional or not, are complicated. By itself, the action would do nothing to reduce the cost of college for future borrowers or to help those who have already paid for their degrees.
CNN spoke with eight former college students about what it would mean to them if Biden canceled any student loan debt.
Educator: $ 68,000 in student loan debt
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” said Lindsay Clausen, 33, who has seen her student loan debt rise from $ 40,000 to $ 68,000 since she finished her master’s degree, despite making regular payments.
Clausen went to New York State University in Potsdam to earn a bachelor’s degree in English language arts and education from the age of 6 to 12, choosing the school in part because the campus was close enough to be able to live at home. save money. While a substitute teacher, he decided to pursue a master’s degree, which must normally be obtained within five years of obtaining an initial teaching certificate to teach in New York State.
When she completed her master’s degree in educational technology in 2014, teaching jobs were scarce in the Potsdam area and her now husband wanted to return home to Washington state. Clausen decided to move in with him, and after a couple of years she got a job as an instructional design coordinator at a university, where she still works today. The job allows him to combine his teaching and technological skills.
Clausen has enrolled in an income-based repayment plan, one of several repayment options available to federal student loan borrowers. IDR plans allow a borrower to make smaller monthly payments, which are tied to the borrower’s income and family size. But because smaller payments are being made, almost nothing is worth paying the principal and the amount of outstanding debt has grown.
Clausen could qualify for debt forgiveness after making 10 years of payments under the public service loan forgiveness program because he works in the public sector. But Clausen is skeptical after reading the few people who have qualified so far. Many borrowers were not eligible for forgiveness when they thought they would be because they had the wrong type of federal loan or were enrolled in the wrong type of repayment plan. The Biden administration has temporarily expanded the PSLF program, with the aim of resolving the problems faced by previous borrowers and counting any payments that may have been lost.
“Hope is the key word here. I don’t necessarily trust it 100% because who knows what the next administration will decide,” he said.
Congress should act to remove the forgiveness of public service loans, which lawmakers did not take on after the Trump administration proposed cutting it from the federal budget for four consecutive years.
If Biden canceled any student debt in one fell swoop, it would end with a lot of uncertainty and anxiety for Clausen. But she says $ 10,000 wouldn’t make much of a difference to her.
“I couldn’t do what I do today without my degree. And I’m very proud of the work I’ve done and the people I’ve met along the way, it’s changed my life. I’m sure,” Clausen said. .
“I guess the part I’m struggling with is why we put a price on access and education. Because it seems to be something that only limits middle- and low-income people,” he added.
Human Resources Representative: $ 80,000 in student loan debt
Monica Mitchell, 43, says she borrowed about $ 80,000 for “a better future than ever before.”
He enrolled twice at the now-closed Vatterott College, a for-profit school: first for a degree in computer programming and then in the school’s cosmetology program. She said neither of them led her to a better-paying job and is currently working in human resources.
As a young single mother of two, Mitchell considered enlisting in the military. But after her sister was sent to Iraq directly off the training camp, she decided to explore her college options. He met with a recruiter from Vatterott College, who had a campus near his home in Missouri.
“I wanted something fast and fast. Four years was too long to have two children. In my mind, Vatterott was going to give me an advantage,” Mitchell recalled.
The program was not what she expected. The instructors moved quickly and she did not receive training in the software she thought she would need. He completed an associate’s degree in computer programming in 2004.
Five years later, she decided to enroll in a cosmetology program offered by Vatterott. But, he said, the school did not properly document their hours and those of other students, shortening their time and delaying their graduation dates. He left after three or four months without a license.
“It was a real waste of time. So years later, I’m still sitting on a massive debt with nothing to show for it,” Mitchell said.
He lives mainly check by check and has been unable to make any payments on his student loan debt. Loans were in arrears before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Biden administration has said it will take the loans out of default before the pandemic-related payment pause ends, which could put it back on track.
What also frustrates Mitchell is that the government has canceled some federal student debts for students from other for-profit schools who cheated their students. Those who were enrolled in Vatterott when it closed – citing economic and regulatory conditions – are also eligible for federal government debt relief, but that was years after Mitchell attended. She is not currently eligible for any relief as far as she knows.
The Biden administration has been working to speed up the relief offer to borrowers who were scammed by their for-profit colleges.
“I just wonder why some students forgave their loans and others, like me, are still charged,” Mitchell said. “They had the same problems as me, the same complaints as me. It’s just a mess,” he added.
If part of his student loan debt was canceled, Mitchell has decided to go back to school in hopes of getting the best future he was looking for.
Retired Veteran: $ 0 student loan debt
Max Messer Jr., 63, has no student loan debt and neither do his children, in large part because he and his wife saved enough money to help pay for college.
The son of a coal miner, Messer joined the army immediately after high school so he could get help to pay for college.
“I knew my parents couldn’t afford to send me to college. I decided that the best way for me at that time was to join the military,” Messer said.
He attended school in Maine, taking evening classes while working full-time for the U.S. Air Force. After six years, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources, and no student debt. He paid part of the cost of his pocket and the U.S. Air Force covered the rest. Messer eventually made a career out of the military in human resources and is now retired.
Her daughter is about to finish her degree and is looking for teaching positions. His son is pursuing a five-year master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Messer hopes his savings and the scholarships and grants his children receive will allow them both to graduate without any student debt.
“My wife and I found a way to do that. We sacrificed ourselves so that our children wouldn’t have to take out student loans and have a better financial start to adulthood,” Messer said.
Messer said he is not a politician and is certainly not “anti-Biden,” but he opposes the idea of canceling federal student loan debt.
“It doesn’t seem fair to me. If student loans are forgiven, that money will have to come from somewhere, and most likely it’s the middle class,” he said.
Meteorologist: $ 61,000 in student loan debt
“The system doesn’t work for us, but against us,” said Angel Enriquez, 29, who was a first-generation college student.
Enriquez borrowed about $ 40,000 to earn his bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Northern Colorado. After working for about five years as a meteorologist, he decided to pursue a master’s degree in environmental science with a focus on hydrology and water safety. He borrowed $ 21,000 more during his first year in the master’s program and will have to apply for more for the final year.
It was the pandemic that made him reevaluate his life plan and go to graduate school. But he also believes that the second degree has helped him get the job of his dreams working for the National Meteorological Service, which begins this month.
“I definitely don’t regret the decisions I made to get where I am,” Enriquez said. But he is frustrated by what it has cost him the university and other people from lower and middle class families.
Enriquez said his parents could not afford to help him pay for college. As immigrants from Mexico, they were unfamiliar with the United States higher education system. But Enriquez felt he needed to go to a four-year college to get ahead. He wanted to go to a public school, but he was on a waiting list and landed at a more expensive school outside the state.
“I get worse when people say, ‘You shouldn’t have taken out these loans.’ We have no choice. more flexibility in our lives, “Enriquez said.
“He applauds everyone who can pay off his student loans, but one person …