Student Loans are Now Impossible to Avoid

Last week, I scheduled the final payment to pay off my student loan balance.

I never got any debt forgiveness. In 2022, the Supreme Court shot down Joe Biden’s proposal to forgive up to $20,000 dollars in federal student loans – had it passed, my balance would have been wiped out right there and then.

Instead, I worked hard, I saved money, and I paid my own way.

Plot twist: I still fully support student debt forgiveness. I still fully support making college tuition free. Because even after doing everything the “right” way, I graduated and began my adult life $25,000 in debt – and compared to many, that makes me one of the lucky ones.

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Doing Everything “Right” Still Isn’t Enough

By the time I started college in 2013, I was aware of the student debt crisis and did my best to avoid paying any more than necessary for my degree. Thanks to the Pell Grant, I was able to attend community college without taking out a single loan. That program has since been cut – reducing the amount of aid and tightening requirements to receive it in the first place.

It took me four years to complete a two year community college program. The majority of that time, I was working multiple jobs – once again, “paying my own way” as I pursued my degree. I went part time in order to keep my GPA high enough to get into a decent 4 year university – and to secure enough scholarships to pay for it. Yet even though I came from a low income family and qualified for the highest possible financial aid packages, that proved to be impossible.

In January 2018, the University of Michigan launched the “Go Blue Guarantee” – a scholarship program to offer free tuition for in-state students with a demonstrated financial need. So that’s where I went.

So how did I still go on to rack up $25,000 in debt in just my last two years of school?

It comes down to the flawed way colleges and universities calculate how much of their own money to spend supporting students – and it’s all directly tied to what the federal government considers aid.

First, universities calculate the cost of attendance. This includes tuition as well as expenses for housing and books (though often housing costs are a dramatically low estimate compared to what these universities charge for dorms).

Second, your school will subtract all other forms of assistance – such as Pell Grants and outside scholarships. The University of Michigan (and many other schools nationwide) then pledge to pay the remainder, in this case in the form of their “Go Blue” scholarship.

The problem? Federal student loans are considered financial aid. Since schools subtract all outside aid before applying their own money, if I had sought outside scholarships those funds would only end up subtracted from the “Go Blue” scholarship – not the loans themselves. Unless I found enough outside scholarships to cover the entire cost of attendance, I had no option other than to take out debt.

I did everything “right.” I worked through school, went to community college, and took advantage of the highest possible financial aid packages – none of it was enough to avoid graduating with debt.

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We’ve Normalized a Generation of Debtors

There’s nothing particularly unique about my circumstances. With the average federal student loan debt currently $39,075 per borrower, I’m one of the lucky ones. Having just paid off my balance, I’m actually now part of the privileged 23% of Americans that are entirely debt free.

That means at the age of 31, I can start making decisions my working class grandparents made at 21. Maybe I can finally save towards home ownership, or purchase a new vehicle. Maybe I’ll throw my money in an investment account and watch numbers increase on spreadsheets. Maybe, over a decade into adulthood, I can finally start pursuing the American dream. In the United States, the average age of paying off student loans has now reached 45 years old. So hey, I should be grateful – I’m actually ahead of the pack.

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It Doesn’t Have to be Like This

When polled, 64% of voters aged 18 to 34 said cost of living was the issue at the top of their minds.

Last year, NPR put the question to their readers under age 40 – “can young Americans still have a better life than their parents?” The responses were bleak:

When asked what economic success looks like for them, respondents didn’t want lavish mansions or high-priced sports cars. Instead, their ambitions were more modest, often centering on the need for financial stability. Yet even that felt out of reach for many.

Young Americans said goals like owning a home, starting a family or pursuing a dream job feel increasingly like a luxury rather than an achievable milestone. Financial concerns are forcing them to reframe what’s possible and sometimes choose one goal over another.

One of the biggest reasons for this sentiment? The crushing weight of debt. Gen Z and Millennials have taken on far higher student loan debt than previous generations - and suffered through multiple economic recessions. Even those who manage to juggle student loan payments while purchasing a home are being hit with higher mortgage debt. At least the latter won’t drown them with compounding interest.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Some people believe “I paid mine, so you pay yours.” Imagine if we took that attitude with anything other than student loan debt? “I beat cancer! Why would I invest in curing it?”

As much as we still love to paint Millennials as “the youth,” their generation is now up to 45 years old. That’s divorced dad midlife crisis age. The debtor generation is quickly making up the majority of Americans. If we don’t intervene, the middle class dies.

That’s why today, I’ve partnered with Feel Good Action – who you can find here on Substack. But the real reason I’m excited to plug them on this topic? Voter Preregistration Day is on April 28th! Many states allow teenagers to preregister to vote prior to turning 18. Depending on the state, this process automatically registers them the day they enter adulthood. With 4 million Americans turning 18 every year – that’s enough to make a substantial impact.

Electing enough representatives to make a real impact on the American student debt crisis will take a massive turnout of voters ready to elect bold, progressive leaders. Share FGA’s voter preregistration resources with the teenagers in your life so they can turnout and vote in 2026, 2027, and even help select the next president in 2028.

Next step? Share this article to help debunk the myth that student debt is avoidable:

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—Alex