Graduation mortar board cap on one hundred dollar bills concept for the cost of a college and university education
For those with federal student loans, repaying them hasn’t been required since the spring of 2020 thanks to an emergency pandemic-era relief move. Credit: Brian A Jackson

Americans currently carry more than $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. One estimate found about 15% of Ohioans have such debt, the second largest percentage in the country.  

But for those with federal loans, repaying them hasn’t been required since the spring of 2020 thanks to an emergency pandemic-era relief move. 

The pause has been extended several times. Unless that happens again, it is now slated to end either 60 days after June 30 or 60 days after the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. 

I’m one of those with debt. This time without payments has let me adjust my budget and do all kinds of things I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise – accept new jobs, buy a house with my husband, adopt a dog, go to therapy. 

I first took on loans more than a decade ago, thinking that was what everyone did to afford a degree. This was what allowed me to become the first person in my family to go to college and later graduate school. That move continues to haunt me, though. I think about it every day. 

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Amy Morona, Higher Education Reporter

Higher Education Reporter (she/her)
Amy, who’s worked in both local and national newsrooms for nearly a decade, previously covered higher education at Crain's Cleveland Business in partnership with the national nonprofit news organization Open Campus. A first-generation college graduate, Amy is committed to highlighting the voices of students in her coverage.