The emergency COVID-19 relief for student loans has expired and loan interest has resumed.
In early July, the Supreme Court ruled against a Biden administration student loan forgiveness plan which would have erased around 430 million dollars in student debt. Now, interest on student loans has resumed and repayment plans will start up in October.
Maximo Flint-Morgan, the director of financial aid at Le Moyne College said for recent grads, it might be a bit of a shock.
“For recent alumni and folks you graduated during COVID, it’s all coming to a head at once,” Flint-Morgan said.
He said students currently enrolled should always look for ways to minimize the need for loans. Scholarships and grants are just a few of the ways to make that happen.
“You really want to kick over all of the rocks to find the money to make college as cheap as possible,” Flint-Morgan said.
He said without student loan forgiveness in sight, now is the time for borrowers to adapt.
“As a borrower, you should be looking and saying ‘ok that isn’t happening, but what other avenues are there?’” Flint-Morgan said.
Despite some of the hurt student loans have caused, Flint-Morgan said they have ultimately allowed a more open path to higher education.
“Student loans get a bad rap but they’ve provided an avenue of opportunity for a lot of folks who were traditionally excluded from the higher education experience,” Flint-Morgan said.
