Mississippians are eligible for $$

According to 'Mississippi Today,' the average Mississippi student college loan of $37,000 is close to the National Average of $37,667 or $1.6 trillion and is among the highest in the nation. Nearly 439,000 Mississippians have Federal Student Loans, which would receive $10,000, or $20,000 if it is a Pell Grant.

However, other online research indicated that Mississippi student debt is slightly over $33,000, which is less than the National Average. Regardless, the amount is close and might adversely affect the Credit Score of some families.

Pell Grants, named after Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, was first awarded in 1973. Designed to help educate students from families with an annual income of less than $60,000. Currently, 27 million students are Pell Grant recipients, and the maximum amount given to a student by a Pell Grant is $6,495. The amount granted depends on how much the family can contribute, whether the student plans to attend full or part-time and whether the student will attend for a full academic year. The minimum Pell Grant is $650.00

According to the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), in the 2020-2021 year, 45% of Mississippi College Students were recipients of Pell Grants. Pell Grants given in the US totaled 6.2 million.

An article in the Biloxi, MS Sun Herald Newspaper stated, "$10,000 will be more than enough to wipe out the entire debt. Based on a study by LendingTree, 139,409 Mississippi residents will no longer be in debt."

To receive the debt forgiveness, the borrower must make less than $125,000 if single or $250,000 if married.

There are 43 million people with Student Loan Debt, and over 16%, or nearly 3M, are in default. Of the 43 million, roughly one-third are Senior Citizens 62 or over, many of whom are on Social Security and unable to make ends meet.

An Analysis by the U. S. Department of Education identified that it would give 87% of the debt forgiveness to people who earn less than $75,000 annually, while 13% will go to those who make between $75,000 - $125,000.

In addition to Student Loans, Parent Plus loans will also be covered under Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness program. Parent Plus loans, which were begun in 1980, were designed to help middle to low-income families pay for college. Interest rates on Parent Plus Loans were fixed for the life of the loan at 7.54%, while Student Loans for the current 2022 school year are 4.99% for Undergraduate students and 6.54% - 7.65% for Graduate students.

Parent Plus loans have no limit on the amount that can be borrowed, and if an eligible child (undergraduate) is in a two-parent family, both parents can borrow for the same child in the same year! Parent Plus loans can also be obtained for more than one student, in the family, in the same year.

Realistically, if a student has a Pell Grant, as well as a Federal Student loan, and both parents obtained Parent Plus Loans, the family could receive $50,000 in the Biden Student Forgiveness Loan program.

Since January 2021, the Biden Administration has forgiven nearly $32 billion in Student debt for public-sector workers, disabled students, and students who were defrauded by colleges. Unsure of whether the newest revelation of the $3.9 million being written off for the ITT Technical Institute for 208,000 borrowers or the smaller number who attended Kaplan Career Institute location in Boston is included in the $32 billion.

Records haven't been obtained on how many Parent Plus loans exist within the State of Mississippi. Mississippi ranks 35th among states providing financial aid to students.