New Whiteland resident Ashton Driscoll, left, with her mother at their 2015 Western Illinois University graduation day.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
At one time, she had more than $50,000 in student loan debt.
Blythe Potter, co-founder of Bargersville Wellness, a barber shop, salon, spa and yoga studio, accrued most of the loan debt, about $40,000, attending Ball State University, and an additional $10,000 for a trade school to help attain the licensing needed to open her studio. The loans didn’t cover the entire cost of her education. A military veteran, she got financial assistance from the G.I. Bill, and she was also able to pay for some of her education out-of-pocket.
She has since paid off her loans. With no student debt remaining, she won’t benefit from President Joe Biden’s August announcement of canceling up to $10,000 of federal student loan debt for most borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Federal Pell Grant recipients. Even though the policy doesn’t apply to her, she believes it’s a step in the right direction in a nation where the average borrower has $37,667 in student debt.
“I was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and used every dime I made while gone paying off student loans. It was super annoying,” Potter said. “I used to agree handouts shouldn’t be a thing, but I have sick parents who are getting some form of government aid that I will help pay for gladly. I would happily help pay for having student loans (forgiven). I don’t know why we’re one of the few countries that disagree that everyone should have access to healthcare and education.”
Having loan debt paid off would benefit people who may have felt there were no alternatives to college, she said.
But others graduates think the answer to the student loan crisis isn’t debt forgiveness.
Kelly Glover, a White River Township resident, said she can’t recall exactly how much she once owed in student loans after attending Butler University and IUPUI, but she has since paid it off. She said her husband has about $500,000 in student loan debt after attending Wayne State Medical School, Oakland University and Indiana University in pursuit of a medical career. After successfully entering the medical field, his income now exceeds the threshold needed to qualify for student debt relief, which is $125,000 a year for an individual or a combined income of $250,000 a year for a married couple.
“I don’t see how it’s fair, because if I had debt and held onto it, I could’ve gotten my money back. I feel all of this is a way to buy votes and make taxpayers pay for it,” Glover said. “The ideal solution, I don’t think schooling should be as expensive as it is. They’ve priced it to where it’s unattainable for the average student without taking out loans. Loan companies shouldn’t be allowed to charge such an outrageous amount. A lot of people owe so much more than they started with and they can’t afford it.”
From 2001 to 2021, the average cost of tuition and fees at private universities increased by 144%. Out-of-state tuition for public universities increased 171%, while in-state public college tuition increased 211%, according to data from the U.S. News and World Report.
Comparatively, from 2000 to 2020, the most recent year recorded, the average wage increased 73%, according to data from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
Some people, like 2011 Franklin Community High School graduate Patrick Walls, welcome the loan forgiveness plan but feel it isn’t enough. While Walls wouldn’t specify how much he still owed, he said he paid 63% of the initial balance, but still owes 96% because of interest.
“I am both happy with this plan and frustrated as it is not enough,” Walls said in an email. “As many folks have noted, there are fundamental problems with both the cost of higher education and how society has required college for financial stability. The cost of a degree has risen so sharply that it is nearly impossible to even attend a public university as an in-state student without incurring debt. The days of working summers and weekends to afford a bachelor’s degree were gone when I entered college a decade ago and things have gotten worse. Aside from just pure inflation of tuition and costs of education, wages have simply not kept up.”
For some people, such as Franklin resident Jacob Smith, the loan forgiveness plan is just enough. Smith has $12,000 in student loan debt, which will be reduced to $2,000 once he fills out the forgiveness application that becomes available next month. He’s had trouble paying it off on a teacher’s salary, especially when combined with bills and the cost of gas. It leaves him with almost no money left over.
“I never expected to have to take out loans, but scholarships didn’t work out, books are expensive, I didn’t have a job and that was my way to pay for school. I used (loans) on books, paying off courses, taking some additional courses at Ivy Tech (Community College),” Smith said. “Instead of ten years of $200 (monthly) payments, $2,000 I can pay off in a year or two, probably. It’s going to be a huge relief.”
New Whiteland resident Ashton Driscoll is down to $18,000 in student loans after graduating $23,000 in debt. With the loan forgiveness, she’ll be down to $8,000, she said.
“We were always taught growing up that if we wanted to achieve anything in our adult lives, college was the answer,” Driscoll said in an email. “I navigated the system to the best of my ability and I came out on the other end better off than many others who might not have had as many advantages as I did. This forgiveness gives people the opportunity to see a little bit of hope as far as paying off their debts goes.”
