Today’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting President Biden’s plan to forgive more than $400 billion in student loan debt is deeply disappointing to the 26 million borrowers who stood to benefit — thousands of Banana Slug alumni certainly among them. It’s also disheartening to the millions of Americans who recognize that access to higher education has the ability to change life trajectories and our society for the better.
The relief plan would have especially benefited first-generation college graduates and those from low-income backgrounds, who are more likely to take on debt to complete their education. UC Santa Cruz is committed to keeping the cost of a degree as low as possible, providing financial-aid packages to new admits before any loans are taken and actively seeking resources to increase available scholarships and fellowships.
Sixty-one percent of UC’s California resident undergraduates complete their degrees without any student-loan debt, while 54 percent have their tuition fully covered by financial aid. UCSC students and alumni are encouraged to consider all the loan-repayment options the Department of Education has developed for borrowers. We will continue to do all that we can to make a UC Santa Cruz education financially accessible to all, and recognize that increasing student housing is an important component of that solution.
