Maggie Bell, 24, wanted to attend a historically Black college and knew the private ones in Atlanta, where she grew up, were out of her price range.
She graduated in 2021 from Albany State University, a public HBCU. She took out over $30,000 in federal student loans. She’s also paying nearly $200 a month on additional private loans.
As a recipient of the Pell Grant, which goes to students with significant financial need, Bell was in line to receive $20,000 in federal debt relief under President Joe Biden’s now-squashed forgiveness plan. Canceling two-thirds of her federal loans would have helped her build up her savings and put her in a better financial position as the cost of rent and basic necessities rises.
“With repayments resuming, my goals are not as tangible and as realistic,” said Bell, lead organizer for a New Georgia Project campaign that’s been pushing for full loan forgiveness. “My short-term goals … it feels like it will be further away and become long-term goals.”
The New Georgia Project is a voter registration group that focuses on minority and young voters.
Many Georgia college students and those with student loan debt were disappointed by Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the plan. Some took to social media to voice their dismay. Others celebrated the court ruling.
The reactions among Georgia’s political leaders were along party lines. U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Evans, said in a statement Biden’s plan was unconstitutional and “would have aggressively driven up the cost of higher education.” U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Decatur, said the court struck down “a popular policy that was put in place under a duly elected President.”
About 1 in 6 Georgians have student loan debt. The average debt for Georgians, nearly $42,000, is among the highest in the nation, federal statistics show.
The White House previously said just over 1 million Georgians applied or were automatically eligible for student loan relief before the courts paused applications last fall amid legal challenges. Of those, 642,000 applications were fully approved and sent to loan servicers for discharge.
Student loan debt is a particular burden for Black and brown borrowers like herself, Bell said. One recent study found the average student debt in Atlanta’s largely Black neighborhoods in 2018 was nearly $7,000 more than that of majority-white neighborhoods. In 2010, the difference was roughly $1,500.
“Here we are getting our degrees, trying to be great, trying to contribute to America and this debt holds us back so much,” Bell said.
Georgia State University senior Jacquelin Rená, 22, hoped to graduate without any student loan debt. Rená estimates she owes about $10,000 in student loans.
Credit: Jacquelin Rena
Credit: Jacquelin Rena
Though she hopes to become a journalist after graduating, Rená now worries she will have to initially work in another field, such as sales, to begin paying off her debt. As a Black, first-generation college student, Rená feels that the world is not set up for her success and said the court’s decision only exacerbates that conviction.
“Being a Black woman, a lot of stuff isn’t fair, but I’ve just learned how to maneuver in this world, because I feel like it’s just not meant for me,” she said. “No matter what, I’ll be fine, but I know I’ll have a much more difficult process getting from point A, to point B, to point C. Everything is just going to be more difficult.”
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