Recently, the Biden-Harris Administration Student Debt Relief Plan has been postponed. For those who have not heard of the relief plan, The Student Debt Relief Plan was proposed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to help the student debt crisis. According to Alicia Hahn, writing in Forbes, Americans hold 1.6 trillion dollars in federal student loans. The debt relief would make up to a maximum of $20,000 owed forgiven from each person’s loan. The relief would help those struggling to pay off their student loans substantially.

The program was announced this past August, proposing to cancel up to $10,000 for all and up to $20,000 for those who received a Pell Grant. In October, the applications for this relief officially opened; however, on November 10, a court order stopped the program. The Biden Administration is currently fighting to overturn the court’s decision, but in the meantime, the government is not accepting applications while the court order still holds. If the court order is not resolved by June 30, 2023, then loan forgiveness will resume, and the application process will reopen.

In the meantime, what can or should you do? As of now, there is no need to pay back your individual student loan payments until the start of next year (January 1, 2023). This pause on student payments is automatic, and this applies for all federal loans. If/when the relief plan resumes operations, you can apply online through studentaid.gov.

What does all of this entail for Century College Students? If the relief does continue, then the majority of debt students have at Century College will be wiped away. The average cost for two years at Century College is around $12,000. You don’t have to be an Einstein to tell that a loan of $2,000 or $0 is easier to pay than a $12,000 loan.

While having a significantly smaller loan sounds great, it is important not to hopefully idle. While the courts are making decisions and waiting, you can act now – to take some power into your own hands and pay your student debt. Some of the obvious ways to help are to apply for financial aid (grants and loans), but you can also apply for scholarships, student employment, and make payment plans. A great place to start looking is the Century College website. For scholarships, Century College alone awards scholarships totaling more than $300,000. There are application periods throughout the year. You can read more here.

Century College also offers student employment. Some of the benefits can include student tuition match, and Bridge to Benefits eligibility. You can read more here. Outside of Century College, there are additional scholarships, jobs, and budget planners to help save. A free online budget planner is offered through Nerdwallet here . These actions can help you prepare for the worst while we patiently wait until the courts make a decision or loan payments restart.