When President Biden came into office, one of his biggest promises was to fix the student loan system and forgive student loan debts. Now, President Trump is issuing executive orders to undo most of what Biden implemented. As a result, many students and graduates are worried about making their student loan payments once again. 

So far, the Department of Education has approved student loan forgiveness to 4,550 people, totaling $600 million in forgiveness. And the Biden administration approved $188.8 billion since he came into office. According to NASFAA, Biden announced his final loan forgiveness approvals just days before Trump took office.

President Trump repeatedly said he wants to abolish the Department of Education. Now, with a Republican majority in the House and Senate, he might be able to make that happen. With the Department of Education gone, defunded students could lose access to many options for loans and debt forgiveness. 

If you are worried about the current changes in the federal government, there are other options besides federal loans to fund your schooling. Scholarships and grants are a great way to get money for classes. As a student you should apply for everything even if it doesn’t apply to you, the amount of people not applying for grants and scholarships means that you could get a grant due to the lack of participation. Many websites help you get started with applying for grants and scholarships, such as California Scholarships and Cal Grant Programs.

Some helpful ways and resources to get a student loan that are not through the Federal government:

Ascent credit-based student loan: 3.39-14.16 percent fixed APR 

College Ave private student loan: 3.47-14.49 percent Fixed APR 

Sallie Mae: 3.49-15.59 percent fixed APR 

While agencies like FAFSA won’t go away if the Department of Education is abolished, they could likely have to be moved to a different agency, which could cause many issues and slow things down. Students may want to find grants and scholarships through private means instead of FAFSA and The Department of Education. While this might be more difficult and require much more research to find student options, financial aid offices won’t be going anywhere and should be utilized. For our campus, I’ve found the best way to contact the Financial Aid office is by email, [email protected]. 

As this is being written, we are still uncertain what will happen with the Department of Education. President Trump’s attempt to make spending cuts were blocked by a federal judge. Still, we now know he is preparing to sign an executive order. Although there is a freeze on federal aid, the Department of Education has stated that it will not affect student loans. “Most federal financial aid programs are considered Title IV funds ‘labeled for individual students’ and so would not be affected by the pause, McCarthy said, but all other aid outside Title IV is unclear. 

Writing or calling your congressperson or senator is also a good way to let them know how you feel about the changes. If you don’t know the Congressional Representative in your area, call (202) 224-3121 to get more information. For the Menifee area, Ken Calvert is our representative and should be contacted at (951) 277-0042. Representative Mark Takano of the 39th district can be contacted at (951) 222-0203, and Representative Raul Ruiz of the 25th district can be contacted at (951) 492-3575.

Since the new Trump presidency has many political implications, students should stay on top of the news so they can be aware and ready to act if any changes impact them personally.