PHOENIX — Ameenah White, who applied for student loan forgiveness, is feeling stressed about student loan payments restarting again in January.
She tells ABC15 she’s been trying to figure out what to do to make payments come January.
“Just with inflation and everything that’s going on, it’s hard to pay back these loans, and that we even had to take out loans for our education is just, it’s, not all of us can get scholarships or have family or parents to help pay for our school. So, our only option is to get a loan and having that burden. It’s a challenge,” White said.
It’s currently unclear when and if the student debt relief program will continue. People can no longer apply after the Texas judge ruled it unlawful.
“When you choose to go to school and you sign on the dotted line that you're going to take that debt, that's your responsibility,” said Jean Kuhn, who is against the relief program. “It's the same as if I go and get a car, I sign on that dotted line. I've got to pay for my car. So these kids, doing the student debt, you know for their loan, they need to pay for it, too.”
Mom Wendy Wells echoed the same sentiment as Kuhn. While her daughter did take out a loan, she said it may benefit her. However, Wells still believes it’s a person’s choice, and another person shouldn’t have to take responsibility for it.
“I've figured it out. I've found a way to get my kids through college, and I feel that people just need to be responsible for their actions… There's just consequences for your action, I think you should pay your debt back,” she said.
Now, those who applied for the program are waiting to see what happens, hoping something will be resolved before payments restart in January.
“I paved my way through school, so I was the only one helping myself. I’ve just packed on a lot of debt going through my undergrad and now my masters,” said Blessing Lungu, a master's student at ASU. “I just kind of want a little bit of relief so that when I do go start paying for my loans after my masters, I cannot have immense amount of debt having to pay back.”
