Americans Fed Up With College Costs, Student Loan Debt: Survey

The Biden administration’s federal student loan forgiveness plan is a nonstarter following the Supreme Court’s denial of the president’s power to forgive up to $20,000 of debt for millions of Americans.

But a new study by Bankrate suggests that lawmakers will come under increasing pressure to address the $1.8 trillion debt burden.

To find out how Americans feel about student loan debt, Bankrate commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct a survey, which took place in mid-June among 3,684 U.S. adults, of whom 1,400 have ever had a student loan and 588 currently have student loan debt. 

The poll found that more than half of all respondents, including current and past borrowers and nonborrowers, agreed that higher education costs have gotten out of hand. Baby boomers and Generation Xers were more likely than millennials and Generation Z to share this sentiment.

Thirty-one percent of respondents said the federal government has not done enough to provide borrowers with financial assistance. This figure shoots up to 48% of those who currently have debt.