Americans Overwhelmingly Support Student Debt Reform
Survey
Dec. 2020
Sample Size:
1,015
Demographics:
US adults
Topics:
Covid-19
Value
Accountability
Affordability
Funding
Student Loans
Top Findings:
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) support forgiveness of all student loan debt for those working in certain industries like health care, science & technology, or public service. More African Americans (78%) and Hispanic Americans (80%) support loan forgiveness for those working in certain industries compared to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (55%) and White Americans (58%).
- Americans show very strong support for other potential solutions including lower interest rates on students that attend public universities (83%), automatic student loan forbearance if someone loses employment (72%), and updating bankruptcy laws to get rid of student debt (66%).
- Americans also supported changes to the cost of a university education including restrictions or price controls on the cost of a university education (78%), no tuition at public colleges or universities (59%), no tuition for undergraduate schooling (56%), and no tuition for any U.S. college or university (53%).
- Fifty-seven percent of Americans agree that the incoming presidential administration is capable of fixing the student loan crisis, and 53 percent of Americans agree that the Biden administration will fix the student loan crisis within the next four years. Americans ages 18-34, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, parents of children under 18, and student loan debtors all rank President Biden first in terms of who should be responsible for fixing the student debt crisis.