- Millions of Gen Z and millennial post-grads are facing towering monthly student loan payments due to Donald Trump’s changes to income-driven repayment plans.
If you’re one of the over 42 million borrowers with federal student loan debt, now is a good time to check your payment portal.
Many borrowers are facing nightmarish monthly payment jumps due to changes to income-driven federal student loan repayment programs—and it is likely to leave many Gen Zers and Millenials defaulting on their loans.
“My payment is going to quadruple,” Ally Rooker shared in a viral TikTok video. Her student loan payment for her public health degree is expected to increase from $250 a month to $900.
Last month, a federal judge blocked the Biden administration-era SAVE plan, an income-driven student loan replacement program with 8 million borrowers, claiming it lacked the authority to forgive millions of dollars in debt. In response, the Trump administration paused all applications for income-driven repayment plans and online loan consolidation, leaving some borrowers in limbo struggling to make ends meet.
“What Trump is doing on student loans is literally going to crash the economy,” Rooker added.
Another TikToker took to the platform to describe her husband’s dramatic 10x payment increase—from $500 a month to close to $5,000.
“It is an obscene amount and a huge portion of our income each month,” she said.
Because of an average 6.3% interest rate on his dental school loans, she said it’s hard to get on top of principal payments. A previous aspiration to buy a house—a core part of the American dream—is essentially unattainable for the next decade, as they pay back the loans.
“We literally already have a mortgage payment—and it’s his loans,” she said. “$5,000 is more than a mortgage payment, that would be a very nice house.”
There’s no clear end to student loan uncertainty
Students enrolled in the SAVE plan have largely been able to ignore their student debt for months due to court battles placing the loans in forbearance, meaning payments were not required and interest was not accrued. However, according to the U.S. Department of Education, the forbearance is expected to end later this year, and servicers expect first payments to be due no earlier than December 2025.
For those who find themselves with an unexpectedly high new monthly payment, especially for something like not being able to recertify their income, contacting the department may be a struggle. Close to 50% of the department is in the process of being laid off, and Trump has repeatedly stated he plans to shut the department down entirely.
Every student loan borrower may have a different situation, so it is best to stay on top of your payment requirements. For borrowers who anticipate having to start repaying loans soon, experts say it is important to start saving money now, keep adequate records, and if necessary, try to contact the education department, your member of Congress, or your student loan provider.
Students sold a lie
Rising costs of obtaining a four-year degree—and skepticism over the future of student loans—are creating anger among Gen Z students. Robbie Scott, a 27-year-old went viral on TikTok for expressing his frustration that despite all efforts to work hard, the system is bringing young people down.
“What’s sh-tty is, we’re holding up our end of the deal,” Scott said. “We’re staying in school. We’re going to college. We’ve been working since we were 15, 16 years old…doing everything that y’all told us to do so that we can what? Still be living in our parents’ homes in our late twenties?”
Staring down a tougher-than-ever job market and being told by executives that their degree holds little value, college graduates are faced with feelings of regret—having realized that a four-year degree may have left them worse off financially. The average student borrower owes $38,000—a price tag that may take decades to pay off.
In reality, the career path that may lead to a high-paying, secure job may be in the trades industry, and some Gen Zers have already caught on. Over half of the generation is now considering a skilled trade career path, like becoming an electrician or plumber.“You get paid to go to school, you get paid when you’re at school, and when we graduate, we’ll make $109,000 a year,” wrote one electrical apprentice in a viral Salary Transparent Street TikTok video.
