The Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Initiative addresses the excessive costs for universities in the United States. Over recent years, 45 million students have borrowed more than 1.7 trillion dollars of debt for simply trying to continue their academic career. On average, students repay $300 every month. Before they even enter the workforce, students are starting their careers with an insane amount of debt to repay. 

The new initiative provides $10,000 worth of relief for all student borrowers. Additionally, public colleges will become free for all families with incomes under $125,000. This innovative policy will be costly at first, but will overall relieve and improve the economy over time. The Biden Initiative for student loan forgiveness conducted a legal review of the education crisis and the details discovered are alarming. The amount owed before students even have a job to repay the loans is astronomical and the interest rates are absurd. 

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was involved with the review process and shares, “Our action today will give thousands of borrowers a fresh start and the relief they deserve after ITT repeatedly lied to them. Today’s action is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's continued commitment to stand up for borrowers when their institutions take advantage of them.” The education crisis is a top priority for the current administration, which will provide some much needed reassurance to the millions of students suffering from high interest rates on their loans.  

Borrower Defense to Repayment Program

Under the Obama administration, the Borrower Defense to Repayment Program was initiated to assist with student loan forgiveness. Students who were defrauded, misguided or taken advantage of by for-profit colleges and universities are set to receive the relief needed to free themselves from debt. According to Forbes, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the revision of the Borrower Defense to Repayment Program, which will grant relief to students with $500 million student loan forgiveness on June 16th, 2021. 

Student Loan Statistics 

• Over half of college seniors in 2019 graduated with debt from both public and nonprofit schools. 

• On average, students owe almost $30,000 upon graduation. 

• In 2019-2020, students borrowed approximately $102 billion dollars. 

• Students in the US alone owe over $132 billion dollars to private lenders. 

• In 2018-2019, the amount of private student loan debt reached an all time high with $13.1 billion dollars owed. 

• Over 90% of undergrads had cosigners for their loans. 

• In 2020, private student loan interest rates increased to 12.45%. 

Final Thoughts

With the support from the Biden-Harris Administration, the Education Department will receive the revisions necessary to prevent future students from falling prey to student loan debt. Students should have the support and encouragement to further their education with the advancement of their academic careers. Education is a critical component to create a strong economy and workforce. Providing financial assistance to students who deserve to receive the education they desire without being exploited is crucial to improving the quality of education. 

For more information about debt relief visit: Student Loan Forgiveness.