PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The website studentaid.gov, where at least 40 million Americans can log in and apply for student loan forgiveness, is up and running.
Many who have used the site are pleased to learn that it’s surprisingly easy. You can input simple things like your name, Social Security Number, date of birth, phone number and email address. There are no forms to upload at all.
More than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians are eligible for the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, including Meaghan Washington of Philadelphia.
"Once you fill out the personal information and you check those boxes and confirm that you're really you, you just hit submit and you get a confirmation like you're placing an Amazon order,” said Washington, a mother of two who is trying to build wealth.
She just purchased a home, and said wiping out $10,000 from her $37,000 college loan debt she's had since 2011 would be a big help.
"I wouldn't feel overwhelmed to get back in the swing of paying down that debt, in addition to this new good debt that I acquired last year,” Washington said.
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"Just a way to wipe that away, to be able to be freed up to invest in my home and my children, and try to create a good future for us."
Sonia Lewis, CEO of Student Loan Doctor, says the income portion of the application is straightforward.
"They have to just attest that in 2020 or 2021, whichever was their last filed taxes, they earned under the minimum required amount."
That total would be less than $125,000 a year as an individual or less than $250,000 a year as a household.
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Lewis said money is due to be dispersed after Nov. 15, so they're asking as many people as possible to log in and fill it out.
"Because there are so many legalities and court cases,” she said. “Things could change, but by them letting the application go live for [Oct.] 17 vs. [Oct.] 23, legally that's a good sign."
Lewis said she’s concerned that many still don’t know the site is live.
"Remember, there are a lot of student loan borrowers that have to be re-engaged, that were in default, or because of the pandemic they checked out of repayment,” said Lewis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.