Student loans are an installment loan that enables you to borrow money from the Department of Ed. for education costs and pay it back later with interest. They are a popular and sometimes necessary financial path for students who want to seek higher education, especially first-generation college students and minorities. Historically, college admission boards have considered diversity and equality on their student campuses. Recent rulings and laws have made some of these considerations obsolete. Although the Trump administration is still in its infancy, the public has succumbed to more drastic educational changes than initially thought. Many have read the memo from the Department of Ed., suggesting the rapid decline in DEI programs. According to CNBC Kamaron McNair, “his administration has begun rolling back policies aimed at promoting diversity, equality and inclusion principles, such as instructing schools to cease considering race in admissions decisions and rescinding Title IX guidance.” With Trump’s threat of shutting down the Department of Ed, lots of federal funding will not be allocated to public schools and universities but to private institutions or programs. With these drastic changes in the Department of Ed. being prepared, how will this impact the future and present U.S student loan borrowers and education as a whole?
According to Cheyenne Haslett, a writer for ABC News, one possibility for student loans “depends on which policies the Trump administration implements… But some of the policy plans that have been floated include moving the government’s student loan portfolio over to the Treasury Department, changing the repayment plans that are available to borrowers and, in the most extreme possible change, privatizing the entire student loan system.” Another possibility that could occur under Trump’s administration, is the administration could block affordable repayment plans and student loan forgiveness. Some payment plans aimed at lowering and simplifying monthly payments have already been rescinded. Speaking to past and potential student loan borrowers, student loans under this administration will be drastically modified in the foreseeable future. From the viewpoint of an upcoming college student, Senior Johana Gonzalez-Cruz, believes that under Trump’s administration, it “ is going to make it harder [for her] to be eligible for loans.” Many students that are in minority groups are in the same place as Gonzalez-Cruz, and although nothing is set in stone, her prediction is plausible. According to Mr. Troy Bradbury, a Capstone teacher, says he is unsure of what the future holds for student loans, but he suspects that he “Could see a world where they start to restrict student loan access to a lot of regular borrowers. And I think that’ll have a negative impact, especially on people of color. ”
From the expertise of obtaining student loans himself and being a high school teacher for several years, Bradbury advises students: “The advice I would have is it’s not about not taking out student loans. It’s about being strategic in the schools that you’re going to and how you’re using those loans.” Bradbury specifically believes students need “to be thinking strategically and budgeting, and teaching themselves how to budget.” As an outlet to pay student loans, working a part-time job provides further financial stability that many students should consider regardless of the administration and laws imposed
