Student loans are given to students to help them pay for their college education. The main problem with this is that a college education is not a cheap cost. According to U.S. News and World Report, in the 2022-2023 school year, the average cost for tuition ranged from $10,423 (public in-state schools) to $39,723 (private schools). These prices are not realistic for most people to be able to pay off without needing any extra loans. Student loans are extremely important because it allows all people to get an education, not just the rich. However, for many people, student debt follows them far past their college years. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average time it takes for someone to pay off their student debt is 20 years, some professional graduates can take up to 45 years. People are paying thousands of dollars in debt for most of their lives. This shouldn’t be the case, there should be student loan forgiveness because education is seen as a necessity within modern society in order for most careers. 

  According to Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), there are specific jobs that can allow individuals to get what is called forgiveness. For example, government workers or nonprofit organization workers are given forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). If one were to work for the government or a nonprofit organization that works to better the community, after a certain amount of time their loans are forgiven. This is extremely important, especially in fields that work for bettering and improving the community as a whole. These forgiveness plans are a way of giving back to the people who give back to the community. Also, according to FAFSA, student loans can be what is known as discharged if someone is impaired with a disability that makes it so they can no longer work. These forgiveness and discharge plans are extremely important and need to be continued in place. When one has been working to better the world they live in, such as essential workers, they should have be burdened with the path they took to get there, instead, they should be rewarded for what they have done within their position. Overall student loans are essential to allow education to be more accessible, but in order to receive loan forgiveness, individuals should work in fields that better their community. They should be able to be excused from these loans because they have earned their education and proven that they were worth the money the school put forth to educate them. Finally, it is important to reward people for their hard work and education when they improve their community by being rewarded through student loan forgiveness.