>> Millions of federal student loan borrowers are facing changes that could cost them thousands of dollars as of July.

First, the one big beautiful Bill Act marks the elimination of the Save repayment plan.

New borrowing caps for parents and professional degree changes and students, graduates and families are feeling the impact.

Joining us now to talk more about these changes are Jennifer Reed Davis, executive Director.

Bottom Line, Chicago, which provides academic personal financial and career counseling for first generation and low income students.

And Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center, nonprofit organization working to end student debt crisis.

Thanks to you both for joining us.

Thank So the Office of Federal Student Aid recently reported that about 9.5 million borrowers are currently in default on their student loans.

That includes nearly 20% of loan recipients in Illinois.

Jennifer, to you first.

What's your reaction to that?

I mean, it's really unfortunate.

We Illinois has series of great colleges and universities.

>> To offer are thousands of families and students in the state of Illinois.

And yet if it is not affordable, that means that it is not accessible for those families at scale.

And we know that they want to be able to have colleges the option for them.

>> Natalia water, default rates so high for Illinois ends.

>> They're as you mentioned there, high across the country.

You have about 250,000 student loan borrowers in Illinois alone.

That means more than 50,000 people are the fog.

And this been the position of seeing debt crisis center.

The chaos and confusion going on with both the lending side, but then trying to pay it back.

There been so many changes over the last 5 years, sometimes changes day by day.

Hour by hour.

It's almost impossible, Christine virus to keep up.

I recalled.

covering a lot of these over the years as well.

That tell you how long on average is it taking borrowers to pay back their loans today?

>> It's technically there is a 10 year standard plan.

And then there's a new tiered standard plan.

This is post changes, which is now up to 25 years.

But it takes far long much more than that.

We're looking at 2025 years on the standard 10 year and borrowers taking 30 plus years to pay off their bones.

The majority of our supporters, debt crisis center are far worse over the age of 45 and have been borrowing more than 20 years.

Cheese.

Jennifer costs are rising across multiple industries.

Of course, you know, I can talk about groceries and gas and of course, housing.

>> How are all of these rising costs impacting graduates abilities to pay those loans back?

Well, I think if we speak about our students and what their real life terms, they have all of those bills that you are talking about.

So they are thinking about rent thing about groceries.

They think about transportation.

All of those costs are going to come before college tuition.

That is the world that we live in.

And so what is happening as I think our students don't even believe that college is not a viable option for them because it feels on affordable.

And what I think will eventually happen is that we will see a decline in students applying to college because they don't believe that is actually a real missed that opportunity for them to even pursue right.

And there's some other parts of act that could also have an impact on that that hopefully will have time to get tell you.

>> A recent survey by the student debt crisis center, you all found that 91% of borrowers will face increased payments with the end of the save plan as well as an estimated $500 average monthly payment increase.

Remind us what to say plan was and why do you think?

You know, it was so important for borrowers.

>> a plan is what's called an income-driven repayment.

Plans said this is plan based on your income versus your overall students and those with high road balancers or have low incomes really benefit from these plans.

State was by far the most generous repayment plan out there that also paint the unpaid interest borrowers didn't see their payments balloon and increase.

This isn't struck down by the courts BB ba is now ended.

Borrowers have been on a 2 year long for parents and they are waking up to payments that are not $500.

re than 0 mind you.

$500 more than what their payment was when they were on the same plan and that is just the median I talked up Iowa's every day.

They're looking at $1000 payments and about.

What options do bars have for repaying their loans.

Now.

So if haven't taken out a new round after July, 1st of this year 2026, there is a legacy income-driven repayment plan called Income-Based repayments.

That probably going to be the best plan for you.

There's also a new plan that came out called the repayment Assistance Plan or lot acronyms here.

The best thing for student borrowers to do is to go to the repayment calculator that student aid dot Gov to see what plan is best for them.

But by all means get on a repayment plan or what's called an extended or graduated repayment plan.

It is so much better than falling into default or delinquency, even a loan forbearance, which is a temporary measure.

But it's still better than adding to those Devon members because we expect that the ending of the same plan and changes to see that the phone number to skyrocket.

So another new policy outlined in Bba.

>> loan limits to graduate programs that no longer meet the professional degree nursing physical therapy, social work, education supporters are arguing that students should not take out how federal loans for degree programs because expected expected salaries are not enough to pay those loans back.

Jennifer, with the reaction to I'm a former teacher.

I should say that up front a very proud classroom teacher.

And so my first reaction to that is actually >> that many of those professions that you just named are underpaid to begin with.

So we believe that not worth the investment.

Actually wonder if we are investing.

Can paying those careers what they actually are valued and how they contribute to society.

The other thing that I want to say is that, you know, we here in our country, we encourage our young people to pursue their own dreams.

And so we want those dreams to not come at a price tag, but they cannot afford.

All right.

And and, you know, American dream like if we're talking about people pursuing dreams that all you do, you think these low capsule impact whether prospective students, you know, pursue degrees in those fields and then what does that mean for those industries?

Health care, education?

>> absolutely think it's going to impact people from going into these incredibly vital careers.

Thank you, Jennifer, for being a teacher.

My mother is a teacher super important career.

You I believe in Chicago.

I'm in California.

I need to have a doctoral degree be a physical therapist that's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But when you have all-time acts $100,000 limit for graduate students, that's not going to cover that professional degree and they're going to have to go and get the private loan if they can't even get one.

recent study per project for us and 45% of borrowers won't even be able to apply for private loans so they just won't have any options.

We are reversing what Lyndon Johnson did with the Higher Education Act of 1965, which was to allow low-income borrowers, women and borrowers of color to be able to go to school and expand their American dream and be able to get education.

And we're going backwards now this country.

All right.

That is unfortunately where we will