In the next few weeks, students will be able to see if they qualify for student loan forgiveness. President Joe Biden is forgiving student loan debt, and the students of St. Ambrose University have mixed feelings about the new plan. Congress approved the legislation, canceling 10,000 dollars in student debt for families earning less than $125,000 a year and $20,000 for students who have been receiving Pell grants.

The President wants students not to worry too much about loans while they are trying to pursue their careers and start new chapters in their lives. The price of college is a huge factor. Money can break or decide a person’s next four years. Hearing about Biden’s project, many SAU students agree that it’s great this is occurring. But people who already chose their path through community college, are bothered that incoming freshmen have more options than what they have.

“I think the idea of President Biden forgiving some student loan debt is a good idea! I like the idea that it brings, and it helps a lot of people. But I went to a community college before I transferred to a bigger university so I would have less debt to pay off in the future,” stated one SAU sophomore. Evaluating Biden’s plan, SAU students are excited about how it may benefit them and a great portion of the college community. Students expressed relief, but others worry that other politicians may get in the way. “I personally think it’s great Biden is considering all colleges with his political agenda, since he campaigned on solely free state and community college. What I’m not thrilled about is the current actions from
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is suing the government for allowing any loan forgiveness. Forgiveness would cut down my overall debt by a third. All in all, it’s a step in the right direction. Albeit, just one step,” declared Lindsey Voss, a senior who is graduating after the 2022 fall semester.

Although there are quite a few students who are grateful that this is happening, there are other SAU students who are not. Many upperclassmen have already started to pay off their debt for the last couple of years now, and say they have earned every payment that went towards their loans. They worked odd jobs, added extra shifts to their busy schedule, adjusted their spending limit, to successfully pay off their loans. “I feel like people have worked really hard to not need it, so it is really frustrating,” a senior said.

At SAU, there have been some definite opinions about President Joe Biden’s plan, but there are also students who like this strategy that is in place, but disagrees with the guidelines that go with it. There are restrictions within the project that prevented students from qualifying. “Honestly I am not a fan of President Biden’s plan. I am in favor of forgiving student loans, but I feel as if this plan was put into execution the wrong way. As a first time borrower this fall, I was upset that my loans would not be forgiven because I had not applied before the date the presidential administration had set forth. If
you are going to forgive student loans, forgive them for the students who meet the criteria that have been developed but do not have any established date restrictions,” suggested a junior.

Most SAU students depend on loans to get them their degree, however, several students do not need to worry about loans. These students who aren’t affected by the burden of student loans, aren’t invested in Biden’s forgiveness project because it may not include them. “I don’t really know that much about it, and I’m not affected by it,” claimed a freshman.

There was a wide variety of thoughts and opinions throughout the entire SAU campus. Whether they agree with President Joe Biden’s motion, the Department of Education is creating a system for applicants to fill out. Currently, students can apply for the relief plan as a prototype application, so the official form can be refurnished. Also, students who apply early do not need to reapply. The official documentation has not been released yet. Students who complete their application before November 15, 2022
can have an additional benefit of receiving relief before the official application deadline date of December 31, 2022. More information and updates about President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan can be found at the Department of Education or the Federal Student Aid websites.

Makenna Verdon is a staff writer for The Buzz.