AACC students who have college loans resumed making payments starting Oct. 1 after the end of the three-and-a-half-year pause.
The U.S. Department of Education started the student loan forbearance program in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic to give borrowers a break from making payments. During the three-year break, student loans did not accrue interest.
Now that the program ended, borrowers have to start making monthly payments again.
Aza Bowman, the assistant director of AACC’s Financial Aid Office, said the policy only applies to students who are not enrolled in at least six college credits.
“Students who are here now that are at least half time, they’re not going to be required to make payments on their federal student loans while they’re in school,” Bowman said.
Still, payments for former students with federal loans have resumed.
“For individuals who, you know, are either alumni of AACC or left AACC who did have student loans, getting another bill on your plate is never a fun experience.” Bowman said. “Especially because of inflation and everything else going on, there could be some individuals who could be stressing to have those payments … start back up and they may not be in a place to be ready yet to do that … but the Department [of Education] is trying to make the resources available to borrowers more well known.”
One of these resources includes the Fresh Start Initiative, a one-time program from the Department of Education that lets borrowers who defaulted on their loans get back financial aid benefits and extends the long-term repayment plan.
Jude Schueckler, a second-year transfer studies student, said the restart of payments has had a negative effect.
“Now I have to worry about more, like, interest accruing on my account,” Schueckler said. “Which has impacted me in that I need to ramp up my student debt repayments in order to, like, not let it get out of control.”
Borrower Chante Parker, a second-year biology student, said so far the repayments have no personal effect.
Still, Parker added, “I could definitely see it being an issue.”