BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Students are doing everything they can to avoid being consumed by debt.
"As a student you don't really want to pay loans back because it destroys everything in the future," said Kahalil Carr, Junior at Buffalo State College. "I usually shoot for scholarships and grants."
However, not everybody lands a scholarship that can cover it all. Sometimes taking out a loan is the only choice.
"It's kind of hurtful to
"College is a lot of money and like I feel like the people that want to come here should get a little break when they're done," said Troy Millen, Freshman at Buffalo State College.
That break just might be on the way. Monday morning, the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS), announced new updates that will make student loan forgiveness accessible to more people.
"So, the forgiveness plan which will be for $10,000 of student loan relief for student loan borrowers and also up to $20,000 if they received a Pell Grant," said Robert Dunn, Vice President of Counseling.
Dunn also said the updates include Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This program is for borrowers that have worked 10 years full-time in public service jobs and have made 10 years of on-time payments. Dunn said to pay attention while applying because 99% of people that applied in the past were denied because of missed steps.
"Due to not having their loans in the proper re-payment plan, not making the exact payment amount they should or it was an unqualified loan or loan re-payment," said Dunn.
Dunn said you can apply for the PSLF Loan up until October 31st. The final update Dunn shared with 7 News can give you a fresh start following the pandemic payment pause.
"For those that made payments when they didn't have to, they can actually request a refund of those payments they made," said Dunn.
Current students told me, all help is good help when it comes to paying back loans.
"It just takes a huge relief off of my shoulders and now I can just focus on saving my money for the future," said Junior Iheke, Senior at Buffalo State College.
