While previous student debt cancellations implemented by the Biden Administration have been beneficial to some, they have not even made a dent in the debt incurred by many others, a new poll find
Of 2,000 US participants surveyed in a poll Conducted by the online education program, ELVTR, 63% of Americans are still struggling with student loan debt.
And 54% of those surveyed say their mental health issues are directly related to that debt.
Close to 2% of student loan debt has been forgiven by the Biden administration. It is the most relieved by any presidential administration in US history.
Total, almost $32 billion in loans have been cleared since the beginning of President Biden’s term.
In addition, the Biden administration’s broader plan, announced in August, will relieve middle- and working-class borrowers of up to $10,000 of student loan debt, and Pell Grant recipients in the same income bracket could reduce up to $20,000 of your student debt. .
Yet the average student attending a public university in the US borrows $32,880 to earn their bachelor’s degree, according to the Education Data Initiative. And tuition prices continue to rise, says Roman Peskin, founder and CEO of ELVTR.
“With the cost of college rising faster than inflation, the situation is only getting worse,” Peskin told CNBC Make It.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed are barely able to afford or unable to afford their loan payments, with minorities like Black borrowers facing the most debt.
With the cost of college rising faster than inflation, the situation is only getting worse.
roman peskin
founder and CEO of ELVTR
The survey found that 79% of Black and African Americans surveyed are completely unable or barely able to afford loan payments. Nearly 70% of the women surveyed are also struggling or unable to afford their loan payments.
Anxiety is the leading mental health condition resulting from student loan debt, the survey found.
But some people experience other mental health issues that they attribute to their student loan debt:
Here’s a deeper dive into the numbers:
- Anxiety (56%)
- Depression (32%)
- Insomnia (20%)
- Panic attacks (17%)
- Other mental health conditions (10%)
Additionally, more than 80% of participants say that student loan debt has delayed a major life event for them. Here are some of the really important ways loan payments have impacted student lives:
- Delayed expenses (i.e. buying a property or a car): 64%
- Delayed savings – 60%
- Delayed trip – 53%
- Delay in starting a family – 32%
- None of the above – 16%
‘Before we bandage the wound, we have to sew it up’
Nearly 60% of Americans surveyed are unhappy with their choice to borrow money to pay for college and either regret doing so or doubt it was a good investment.
When reflecting on their higher education options, many people indicated what they would have done differently given the opportunity:
- 28% would choose a different field
- 25% would spend less on education
- 23% are happy with their choices
- 13% would attend a different school
- 7% would not go to college
- 4% would spend more on education
And borrowers may find it hard to accept their decisions because more than half of the participants who got a college degree earn less money than their friends without degrees.
As a result, more career changes are likely to come in the future because only 27% of those surveyed plan to stay in their current industry.
“Loan forgiveness, while a great initiative, is really just a Band-Aid: Before we can bandage the wound, we need to sew it up first,” says Peskin.
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