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Erin's avatar

I don't qualify for any forgiveness, and don't necessarily have a problem paying back what I borrowed, but FFS, at least get rid of the ridiculous interest rates on what I'm paying. Paying back the loans isn't my problem, it's the TOTAL AMOUNT I will have paid after 5% interest compounds over years. It makes me see red.

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writerethink's avatar

I think that the changes to Income-Driven Repayment are an even bigger deal (or at least, AS big a deal) as the $10/20k forgiveness, but what I'm puzzled by is that the forgiveness seems to apply to both undergrad and graduate loans, whereas the IDR changes seem to specify that they are ONLY for undergrad loans. Does anyone know what the rationale there is? My only loans are from grad school, but with $10k off the top I'll have a very small amount left to pay, so I'm really not worried about myself here. I *am* really worried about all of the people who got sucked into predatory self-pay Masters programs, though, because I think that's a group that would massively benefit from the changes to IDR but seems to be left out.

(I'm wondering how much of the distinction is based on a sense that grad school is more "optional", and/or a belief that those with grad school experience are likely to be more highly-paid. I don't know the actual numbers here, but I'm guessing someone does! My own experience tells me that people who have grad school loans, especially if they have loans without having been able to finish the degree, are likely to end up in low-paying jobs.)

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