Student loan debt rises despite forgiveness efforts

Despite student loan forgiveness efforts conducted by President Joe Biden's administration, the nation's education debt level is now higher than when Biden took office.

That's according to U.S. Department of Education data analyzed by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. "Total student loan debt went up while President Biden was in office, despite all of the student loan forgiveness," Kantrowitz said.

At the end of 2024, outstanding federal student debt was roughly $1.6 trillion. That compares with $1.59 trillion at the beginning of 2021, when Biden took office.

The Biden administration provided $188.8 billion in student debt relief.

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