Student loan forgiveness sounds like a good deal to many debtors, but since President Joe Biden suggested some form of federal student loan forgiveness, experts and debtors have been debating what that should look like.

“There isn't an American Dream anymore, especially if you went to college and had to borrow for it,” said Tracy Musick, who earned her master’s degree in library science from North Carolina Central University in 2011.

“I was actually in a better position when I was selling makeup, and didn't have a degree at all,” Musick said, adding that she would like to own a house and prosper on her own, but feels like she is weighed down by the debt.

Biden has suggested student loan debt forgiveness but has not yet published specific measures. Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have proposed up to $50,000 in debt forgiveness, but no legislation has been formalized.

“The President continues to support the canceling of student debt to bring relief to students and families,” Biden press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on February 4. “Our team is reviewing whether there are any steps he can take through executive action, and he would welcome the opportunity to sign a bill sent to him by Congress.”

But economic experts say the words “loan forgiveness” may lead to inaccurate assumptions.

“Overall, we find balance forgiveness to be a highly regressive policy,” wrote Sylvain Catherine, professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Constantine Yannelis, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, in The Distributional Effects of Student Loan Forgiveness.

Catherine and Yannelis say debtors in upper economic levels would receive a greater benefit than economically disadvantaged debtors, who need the relief the most, Catherine said in a Wharton podcast.

“If a comprehensive loan-forgiveness program were passed, we calculate that the average person in the top 10% of earners would receive $5,944 in forgiveness, while the average individual in the bottom 10 percent of earners would receive $1,070,” they wrote in The Washington Post.

Catherine told VOA that enrolling more people in income-driven repayment plans is better for the bottom 30% than forgiving $10,000, and it also is less expensive to taxpayers.

Student debt is a fierce topic for many Americans because it is larger than all credit card debt. Outstanding student loan debt is held by nearly 43 million people, totaling more than $1.5 trillion, according to Federal Student Aid. Many debtors say they cannot move on with life milestones, such as getting married, having children or buying a home, under so much debt.

Experts at the Brookings Institution in Washington point out that one-third of all student loan debt is owed by only 6% of borrowers, typically students pursuing or who achieved their master’s and doctoral degrees.

Cody Hounanian is a student debtor and program director at Student Debt Crisis, a nonprofit dedicated to reforming student debt and loan policies for higher education. Founded in 2011, it advocates for private and federal student loan borrowers in the U.S. and works with other national groups.

Student Debt Crisis and more than 325 organizations re-released a letter February 5 calling on Biden to forgive student loan debt.

“As a group that represents 2 million supporters with very diverse perspectives and experiences … we are very supportive of [forgiving] $50,000 in student loan debt,” Hounanian said.

Another strategy, Hounanian said, might include debt restructuring, meaning borrowers with high interest rates would be able to refinance at lower rates, similar to what homeowners do with their mortgages as those bank interest rates drop.

“I look at this as another common-sense solution because anyone with any other type of loan — including a car loan, or a home loan — they're familiar with the idea of refinancing,” he said.

A report by the Association of Community College Trustees in December 2020 found that, in the case of Valencia College students in Orlando, Florida, those who defaulted on their loans typically suffered academically.

“Default does not impact all borrowers equally: Students who have stopped out or who have completed some college credits but have not yet earned a degree or credential are especially at risk for default,” the report stated.

“Non-traditional-age students, students of color and low-income students are also at greater risk,” it stated. “The median defaulter owes less than $10,000, and students with the smallest amounts of debt are the most likely to default.”

As of 2019, Musick owed about $80,000 in federal loans for her master’s degree — plus at least $3,000 in interest. She said she currently is not sure how much she owes exactly.

“All of the payments that I've made have only been to interest — none of it has touched the principal,” she said. “That means that my loan is actually growing.”

But some others see student loan forgiveness in a different light.

“I’ve paid off nearly all of my student loan debt in the last 10 months and NOW there is talk of canceling it?!” Maria Ducato, of Florida, tweeted with a .gif of Friends actor Matthew Perry repeatedly banging his head against a plank.

“What about the people [like me] who minimized their need for student loans and then paid back those loans like a responsible adult?” replied Julie Coffman to Psaki’s tweet.

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.