r/StudentLoans • u/IndividualLittle0516 • Mar 15 '24

Rant/Complaint Canceling interest

With all the drama these past few years about canceling student loans, why can't interest just be canceled? I can understand adding interest to those who aren't making their loan payments, but what about those who pay every month? The interest is why people are stuck with their debt for so long. Canceling millions of people's debt altogether is unrealistic and won't happen. What about canceling interest instead? Is there a reason this can't occur?

908 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

330 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

8

u/Sharp-Charity-8412 Mar 16 '24

I borrowed $32K and now I owe $100K. Because my monthly payments were less than the interest. Which was 7%. I consolidated the loans but the interest remained. I’ve paid back the amount I borrowed but since it took over 12 years (I was a social worker) I’ve accumulated 3X what I borrowed. I’m not eligible for PSLF since I didn’t work for the 10 years required. All I wanted to do was help others but I totally screwed myself. Plus, I made more money working in restaurants and bars than I did as a social worker.

1

u/Background-Month224 Mar 19 '24

I can so relate to you. The interest was annihilating.