“I anticipate this to really help students out” Jennifer Baker, director of student financial services at Southwestern Oklahoma State University said about the Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan.

On Aug. 24, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a Student Debt Relief Plan that includes one-time student loan debt relief for individuals and families that have withdrawn federal student loans on or before June 30, 2022. The bill is intended to help “single borrowers who make under $125 thousand annually or households that earn under $250 thousand annually” Baker said.

Eligible recipients will receive $10 thousand canceled from their loan balance and an additional $10 thousand canceled if they receive Pell Grant. “So potentially students can have $20 thousand dollars of their student debt erased if they receive Pell” Baker said. “I do want to make sure that students are aware that it is for loans that were originated or disbursed before June 30, 2022, so anything that you received for fall will not count towards this type of loan forgiveness.”

This forgiveness is not just for current students, even individuals that have already graduated may be eligible for this forgiveness. “They do not make any generalizations or limit about how far back this goes” Baker said. 

Students that have already completed the 2022-2023 FAFSA have already submitted their income data to the U.S. Department of Education in their FAFSA application. For those that have not or were unable to file the 2022-2023 FAFSA, there is an application that ‘will be available online in early October” according to https://studentaid.gov.  

Students can read the most asked questions or sign up for updates for the online application on https://studentaid.gov by signing into their account. Also be sure to reach out to the SWOSU Financial Aid Department with any questions.  

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References- Jennifer Baker, director of student financial services at SWOSU 

The U.S. Department of Education The Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan Explained (studentaid.gov)