Zoe Berg, Photo Editor

U.S. President Joe Biden approved a sweeping student loan forgiveness plan on Aug. 24 — a plan that Yale administrators say will have little effect on Yalies who primarily rely on grants, but that some students say is significant nonetheless. 

While student loan debt has grown nationwide, with 16.6 percent of American adults owing a cumulative $1.75 trillion in total student loan debt, Yale’s financial aid grants aim to help students afford the $80,000 term bill. Still, Yale Democrats Vice President Emma Wallner ’23 said that student loans are likely more prevalent on campus than many students believe.

“Student loans are a taboo topic on Yale’s campus,” Wallner said, “There is an unspoken affordability gap for middle-income students who do not receive full aid yet do not have the means to write off a check in full.”

For the class of 2021, 12 percent of graduates took out student loans, amounting to an average $14,383 of debt per person. Nationally, 57 percent of students at private four-year universities take on educational debt, and borrowers owe an average of $28,950.

“Since 2008, Yale College has met 100% of demonstrated financial need for all students without including loans in financial aid awards,” said Scott Wallace-Juedes, director of undergraduate financial aid. “This means that — by our calculation — every family will have the resources to cover their full cost of attendance through a combination of scholarship aid, an affordable parent share and a student share.”

Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid, added that ensuring that every student can graduate debt-free is an “important pillar” of Yale’s financial aid policies. 

However, some students — whether or not they qualify for need-based aid — may still choose to fund their cost of attendance through loans, Wallace-Juedes said. The Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid offers personal student-loan counseling, which may cover whether or not to borrow, which types of loans to take out, repayment options and the loan application process.       

And for some Yalies, student loan cancellation could save them thousands of dollars.

Under the new loan forgiveness plan, millions of borrowers will see up to $10,000 of student debt voided, and Pell Grant recipients will have up to $20,000 of their loans canceled by the Department of Education. Eligibility is limited to individuals earning less than $125,000 and families earning less than $250,000 per year. Some loan recipients may be automatically eligible for relief, while others whose data has not yet been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education must apply. The official application has yet to be released, but is expected to be available by October, according to the Department of Education.

The Biden administration also extended the moratorium on loan repayment and interest through Dec. 31, the final expansion of a policy it put in place when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Wallner said that she views Biden’s loan forgiveness plan as “one in a string of policy wins.” Yet she noted that the plan provides temporary relief, rather than addressing the soaring prices of a college education.

“The root of the issue, the ballooning cost of college education in America, looms over the working class, even at an institution like Yale,” Wallner said.

Students on the opposite side of the political spectrum also expressed concerns about the effectiveness of Biden’s plan. 

Daniel Sorial ’24, who identifies as a conservative, described it to be a “band-aid solution.” He said that the loan relief program “does not solve the root problem that the price of college education has grown tremendously in the last few decades.” 

At Yale, the price of tuition and room and board currently sits at $80,700. For the 2002/2003 academic year, students paid $35,370 for the services.

He added that he thinks there will be little benefit to this program in the long-term and that loan forgiveness discredits other Americans who paid off their student loans. 

“This will produce little long-term good and diminishes credit from those who have diligently paid back their loans,” Sorial said.

Student loan holders apply for relief at the U.S. Department of Education.