Presidential promises are key in any campaign. President Joe Biden made one such promise in his presidential campaign to forgive up to $10,000 of student loan debt during his presidency. To this day, the president’s promise has yet to be fulfilled, making many uneasy about the situation.

     “When I heard about student loan debt being forgiven, I was so excited. College is a possibility for me; I do have family that have really struggled with paying off their student loans-college is just too expensive,” senior Jasmine Crouch  said.

    On March 20, 2021, Biden promised that under his administration student loans up to $10,000 will be forgiven for everyone in America as a part of his student loan forgiveness program. 

   “We should forgive a minimum of $10,000/person of federal student loans, as proposed by Senator Warren and colleagues. Young people and other student debt holders bore the brunt of the last crisis. It shouldn’t happen again.” Biden tweeted. 

     In March 2022, Biden put a pause on student loans. Both students in college and those who graduated would not have to make payments on their loans without it counting against their credit or going up in interest. 

      “ I am mad that we still don’t know if student loans will be covered or not but at least they have put a pause on the payments. I just hope that the decision will be made before I start my freshman year in college,” senior Haley Deaton said.

    According to educationdata, “In America alone, there are 43 million students who owe altogether $1.762 trillion in student loan debt”. The average federal loan debt is $37,000 while including private loan debt raise the average to as high as $40,900. This number showcases why the president’s promise to help get rid of up to $10,000 in student loans is important for many. 

     “I really did want to go to college, but now I’m probably going to just start working. It’s just too expensive. I don’t know how they expect us to be able to pay all of this. It’s really insane, but if Biden does end up getting rid of student loans then I might actually consider going,” senior Annette Flroes said. 

         Although no set date for Biden’s decision on forgiving $10k worth of student loan debt has been made yet, the president’s administration has dropped hints that it might be some time before midterm elections.  “We would make a decision about any cancellation of student debt before the conclusion of that pause on student loans.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.