College graduates prepare to pay student loans after pause

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Some college graduates may have to start paying off their loans immediately.

After a three-year pause, student loan payments will resume in just a few months. For some, that means your next payment date will be this September.

We talked to a parent and recent college graduate about this looming payout.

Many students are starting to take a look at the budget for repaying student loans.

But before the pause, they weren’t dealing with stifling inflation.

It’s back, even though you wish it wasn’t.

“I just kept thinking they’ll keep pushing it off. Surely there’s so much more going on in our government right now. They’ll just push it off and not have to deal with us getting upset about it,” said Lindsey Morris, who graduated in 2019.

It’s time to open up that dreaded Excel sheet.

“I was definitely paying more for my car payment than I need to just to try to pay it off faster. But now I’ll just have to take away from that and just be stuck with both debts longer,” said Morris.

A lot of people repurposed that money during the pause, whether it was for a car payment or starting a family.

Colleen Davis, special education teacher, said: “I was able to financially put a lot of that money that was a part of the budget, towards student loans into being able to have a child and what that all entails. "

Now, she finds herself waiting for the next shoe to drop.

“They’re saying it’s coming up. And so, we’re gearing up again. But if it’s pushed back again, it changes our life, especially having a new little one in our family. It just makes it harder,” said Davis.

Getting answers hasn’t been easier.

“I definitely have reached out to the loan provider and have tried to contact them by phone. If it’s by email, the response because they’re so backed up at this point, it’s really hard to even discuss or talk about that repayment plan,” said Davis.

The end of student loan forgiveness comes as the Supreme Court continues to debate the legality of the Biden Administration’s Authority to erase student debt.

The Supreme Court is expected to have a ruling on the forgiveness plan before the end of June.

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