Student Aid

Joint publication with UNCF outlining how Congress can increase college affordability and close equity gaps by doubling the maximum Pell Grant.

The current student loan payment relief benefits have provided vital economic support to upwards of 33 million borrowers who can better cover their basic needs during the pandemic without having to worry about their balances ballooning from unpaid interest, or their loans falling into delinquency or default. Without policymaker action, these protections will expire on December.

More than six in ten (62%) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt and they owed an average of $28,950. This is a lower share of students than the Class of 2018 (65%), and a very slight decline (less than 1%) in total debt from the 2018 average of $29,200.

More than six in ten (62%) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt and they owed an average of $28,950. This is a lower share of students than the Class of 2018 (65%), and a very slight decline (less than 1%) in total debt from the 2018 average of $29,200.

'To help students, Congress should start by doubling the maximum Pell Grant'

For college students and student loan borrowers, the HEALS Act proposed by Senator McConnell today is too little, too late. In the face of a surging pandemic, it cuts off much-needed relief for millions of student loan borrowers and fails to invest enough in public colleges to prevent dire consequences for students.