This story focuses on students in Colorado, but this is obviously happening all over the country.
CBS News in Colorado reports:
Colorado college students begin applying for student loan forgiveness as program opensThe U.S. Department of Education officially launched its online application for student loan forgiveness on Monday. President Biden calls it “a game changer for millions of Americans” looking for some help making ends meet.”It takes a minute and a half maximum to fill out,” said Ryan Smith, a senior at Metropolitan State University in Denver.Smith is among the millions who’ve already applied for student loan debt forgiveness. He said he applied when a beta version of the website launched late last week.”You can potentially get $10,000-20,000 forgiven just by spending that minute and a half, so there’s no reason not to spend that time,” Smith said of encouraging others with student loans to apply.All that’s needed to apply – a quick click on StudentAid.gov. There, applicants simply enter their contact information, date of birth, and social security number. Only individuals who earned less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021 and married couples with total annual income below $250,000 are eligible for loan relief under the program. About 95% of Americans with college loans are expected to qualify, helping some 40 million people like Smith.”I have a pretty significant amount of student loans just to help get me through. It’s definitely a relief that my payments are going to be 2/3 of what they were originally, which is significantly lower,” said Smith.Unless challenges from conservative lawmakers block efforts, the Department of Education could begin forgiving student loans as early as next month. It’s a difference-maker for Smith, but he also sees it as a step in the right direction for future students seeking higher education.
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