These 5 people have student loans. Here's what they think about debt forgiveness
Last week, President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for people making less than $125,000 per year – $20,000 for those with Pell grants.
The White House had been in deliberations for months over how to deal with student loan debt that has grown to more than $1.6 trillion and growing for 45 million borrowers.
The plan comes with some critics concerned about the impact on inflation and others seeking a more aggressive approach from the federal government.
The plan and potential effects raise the question: How does student loan debt – and the announcement – affect people in central Illinois? Five people – four of whom are University of Illinois Springfield students -- spoke about student loan debt and the impact of the potential forgiveness.
Others are reading:Jacksonville man found dead following single-vehicle crash
Richard Bailey, senior, University of Illinois Springfield
"(My student loan debt) is closer to $30,000. It's hard to say (how much I've paid off) because every 14-15 months, you would get a letter saying 'Your servicer has changed.'
I'm a returning student, so I've been in and out of school at different points. I think my original servicer was Sallie Mae. I couldn't even tell you who the new company is, but they would sell off the loans.
It just got to be so strange sometimes; you would call someone and they would go, 'Oh, we don't have it.' I would go, 'Well, who has it?'
It's a weird deal to say to someone who was requesting a hall pass last week, 'Hey, do you want X amount of dollars?' You can pay it back, not tomorrow, they may not be looking that far down the line – assuming they can get a job that they can pay it back from.
I think that maybe the threshold could have been a little bit higher. It just depends on each borrower. Some people have more sweat on their brow – I in particular do – but I am grateful for what I'm seeing."
Erin Henkel, graduate student, UIS
"I started my undergrad at a local community college when I was in high school, then did a majority of my undergrad at Monmouth College.
I have about $6,000 (from my undergrad). That doesn't include the loans that I took out to cover graduate school.
(I had) a full-tuition scholarship. That $6,000 was for cost of living even though I was also a RA. I was lucky enough to receive a Pell grant as well. That helped me cover some of my expenses. I was also lucky enough to receive a full academic scholarship, so that left fees, books, meal plans and all of those fun things that are added on that I still had to pay for.
I had to take out loans to cover those expenses. It was really scary to take those out, but I knew that I had to in order to go to school. I had (the) full-tuition scholarship, as well as band, theater (and) speech scholarships, but (even) with all of those combined, I still would have had to take out loans.
For me, it's actually a big significance, even though I only have a small amount of loan debt compared to some of my peers. Because I grew up as a Pell grant recipient, I don't have some of the familial institutions that would help me get out of debt. Having this relief means that I can start my adult life not drowning (in debt)."
Yonoxi Perez, junior, UIS
"(I owe) maybe $1,000 each semester. Out of pocket, (I've paid) $8,000 in the past two years.
It's a bit of a struggle because I come from a lower-income family (in Waukegan), so I mostly pay all of my studies and books. I have to manage schoolwork with a job on campus. (Right now), I work with Athletics.
Being a third-year (student) getting close to graduation, it is a bit of a struggle because I have to save up more so that I can pay it before I graduate so that I won't have to get that interest added after.
I think (the forgiveness) will be very beneficial because I want to go to med school, so I feel like if we could have our loans forgiven, it would take a weight off of my shoulders because I don't have to worry about paying off the loans for undergrad and I can focus on paying for med school."
Amanda Bluthardt, senior, UIS
"I believe (I owe) about $6,000 each semester. I have only just transferred here; last year was my first year. Combined with the other schooling I had – I know it's $12,000 for last year – and then I had some loans from another school, so probably $16,000 (in total).
They're expensive. It's been hard to budget. They've pushed them back because of COVID, which has been beneficial. I've had to put a lot of focus on to working in order to pay them off and just budgeting a lot trying to be able to.
When I was first starting college, I thought about staying away from more expensive places because I knew I wasn't necessarily going to be able to afford it and trying to avoid being in debt.
It would be very nice. We're definitely going to try to apply for it. It would take a lot of stress and a lot of weight off of my shoulders, for sure."
Others are reading:Refrigerators, products at closed Taylorville Kroger being inspected
Jordan Andrew, lawyer, Illinois State Board of Elections
"I like to think of my loans in two different ways: I have my undergrad loans, which are sitting at about $16,000, then I have my law school loans, which are at $175,000.
Both of my folks worked very hard. (Undergrad) wasn't fully funded by student loans, both my mom and my dad contributed as much as they could, and I did scholarships and student work to supplement it. But the student loans bridged that gap.
I knew about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program early on. I definitely knew about it before going into law school and I always had an interest in working for the government, being a government attorney, that kind of thing. They went hand-in-hand.
The basis of that program is 10 years of public service while making 120 active payments and making certain other qualifications. I still haven't hit that. My understanding is that (it) should take care of my law school loans in their entirety.
I think it's a very pragmatic and compromised approach to things. Does it go as far as folks with the debt that I have may have liked? No, but does it go far enough to have an appreciable impact on folks' lives? Absolutely, mine as well."
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: What Springfield students in Illinois think about loan forgiveness
