President Joe Biden planned to help the student loan debt many Americans face, as college graduates have an average of $30,000 in debt. With his Student Debt Relief plan, the Biden Administration planned to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans individually.

While not just anyone can fill out their Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) form and get twenty thousand dollars, there are certain qualifications a person must meet like working for a federal job or nonprofit organization for 10 years and others. You can read more about the qualifications for the PSLF form and application on the Federal Student Aid’s official website. 

Borrowers were supposed to get money back to help with debt as soon as Oct. 23, but a U.S. district court in Texas declared Biden’s plan as unconstitutional on Nov. 11, and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected it as well, stating that it was an overuse of presidential power. Many courts soon followed, totaling up to six blockings.

Some states are worried they will face a financial crisis if they follow through with the loan forgiveness program.

The plan has been put on pause, since The Supreme Court said they will hear further arguments for student loan debt in Feb. 2023. 

So what does this mean for students heading to college? It’s not cheap, and not everyone has the opportunity to pay for college without pulling out a loan. When it comes to the future, education is highly important and paves the path of your future and career. 

Graduates who get accepted for student loan forgiveness should not have to wait forever to get their money, especially after being told they would get it on certain days, and now not knowing what will happen to them.

In order to prevent having a loan crisis, like many people currently, scholarships are a good way to go.

For seniors, it is important to look into scholarships now. Just like regular applications, they have deadlines and can only be applied to during certain times. You can reach out to the federal aid office at a campus you are interested in, counselors, organizations that apply to the field you are interested in, and many more to see what scholarships you can apply to. The worst thing they can say is no, so you might as well give it a shot.

Certain jobs such as Publix, the military, Amazon, and even Starbucks will give you money for college if you work for their company for the required amount of time.

An option often hated on, going to community college first. You can easily transfer credits from a community college to a private college. There is nothing wrong with this option, giving students more time to prepare for the real world, while also saving up money. College is a big step and a huge change that people have to learn to adapt to.

Overall, student loans aren’t the worst option either. You just need to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into and that you can pay off your debt in the future.

Going from high school to college isn’t supposed to be easy, but you know what is best for you. Don’t let politics and social media make your college decisions for you.