TYLER, Texas — The student loan forgiveness plan isn’t for every borrower who took out student loans.
Briana Heard, a UT Tyler alumna who graduated with a master's degree last year, said she racked up a lot of loans while pursuing her previous degree at Stephen F. Austin State University.
"Oh man, so I have $55,000 in student loan debt right now …so we’re going to pay it off one by one," Heard said.
In an announcement Wednesday, President Joe Biden said borrowers who earn less than $125,000 annually, or families earning less than $250,000, would be eligible for the $10,000 loan forgiveness, according to the Associated Press.
Biden also said those who received Pell Grants, which are for undergraduates with the most significant financial need would have an additional $10,000 in federal loan debt canceled by the government, the AP said.
Dollar by dollar is how many Americans are paying off their student debt. The news of loan forgiveness comes as a big relief for many.
"As students, we work super hard to get where we are," Heard said.
Though $10,000 may not be much for those who have several thousands of dollars in debt, any drip in the bucket will help.
"It would help significantly because I don’t have $10,000 hanging out of my pocket right now. But I still wish we could do more as a nation right now," Heard said.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the typical undergraduate student graduates with nearly $25,000 in loans.
Loans taken out on or before November 2021 will be forgiven, giving many alumni a chance to focus on other bills, according to Wednesday's announcement.
"It’s going to impact those who have borrowed student loans for future. In the estimation, a third of those students have $10,000 in loans or less. Because UT Tyler is a low-cost budget institution a lot of our borrowers are going to get a lot of their loans completely forgiven," said David Barron, associate vice president of university enrollment management at UT Tyler. "So, it’s going to make a big impact."
In addition to the loan forgiveness announcement, Biden also said he'll extend a pause on all federal student loan payments, which he said would be the “final time,” through the end of 2022.