One of President Joe Biden’s campaign promises was canceling student loan debt, a financial burden for many Americans. In March 2020, Biden tweeted, “We should forgive a minimum of $10,000/person of federal student loans, as proposed by Senator Warren and colleagues.”

In August 2022, the Biden-Harris administration announced their student loan forgiveness program, urging Americans with student loan debt to apply online with a quick application. Depending on the amount of debt and the need of the applicant, a borrower could have up to $20,000 in loans canceled. As of 2022, loan payments had paused for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then-Secretary of Education Betsy Devoes put payments on hold in March 2022 using the HEROES Act in response to the pandemic, as reported by SCOTUSblog an independent news organization which specializes in covering the U.S. Supreme Court.

Biden’s program was put on hold after being challenged by six states and two individuals arguing that it does not comply with the HEROES Act or other federal laws, leading to a review by the United States Supreme Court, SCOUTblog reported.

The Supreme Court spent months reviewing the plan, determining whether it was Constitutional and if the Biden Administration had overstepped its authority when launching this program. After months of deliberation, the Supreme Court struck down the loan forgiveness plan 6-3 in June 2023.

Although this disappointed many Americans, the Biden administration has continued efforts to find ways for borrowers to have loans discharged or canceled by negotiating with regulations under the Higher Education Act, as noted from the U.S. Department of Education.

Photo By: Drew Kerner

While payments and interest on student loans were on hold for the past three years, payments resumed for those not currently enrolled in higher education as of October of this year. Interest rates have resumed as well, so those in repayment need to understand who their loan servicer is and apply for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan.

IDR plans base payments based on income and family size, keeping payments reasonable for low-income borrowers, explained by Federal Student Aid, the same entity which the FASFA is completed through. SAVE is the newest IDR plan and is the revised REPAYE (Revised Pay as You Earn) plan. Just like other IDR plans, it takes your income and family size into consideration.

However, SAVE has an interest benefit: the federal government will cover your interest payment if your monthly payment is not enough to cover the interest charge. This prevents any interest from growing on your account balance. Borrowers with incomes low enough to qualify can have payments as little as $0.

The average student graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Superior graduates with $27,932.00 of debt, according to Emily Neumann, UWS Institutional Research and Sponsored Programs Director. Most federal loans go into repayment status six months after graduation or after the student drops below half-time enrollment status at their college or university.

Students with loans must complete exit counseling when their graduation date is approaching. According to Chelsea Parrish, these students receive notice to complete the online counseling first in their UWS email inbox, then to their personal email address as a follow-up if necessary. Parrish states that payment plans such as SAVE are covered in the exit counseling and that students can contact their loan providers for further information.