Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan

The Department of Education recently announced the new Loan Forgiveness Program to provide targeted debt relief to address the financial harms of the pandemic, fulfilling the President’s campaign commitment. 

The Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education, and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. The Department of Education will work quickly and efficiently to set up a simple application process for borrowers to claim relief.

• The Federal Student Loan Debt Relief application is currently paused due to litigation. For current information, visit Federal Loan Announcements.

Nearly 8 million borrowers may be eligible to receive relief automatically because their relevant income data is already available to the Department. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, this additional debt relief will not be treated as taxable income for federal income tax purposes. President Biden capped the loan cancellation at $10,000 for single borrowers making less than $125,000, or households earning less than $250,000. The relief includes current students and borrowers who have federally-held undergraduate, graduate, and Parent PLUS loans where the first disbursement was on or before June 30, 2022. 

For detailed information, we urge you to visit The Biden-Harris Administration's Student Debt Relief Plan Explained.

If you are a Pell Grant recipient, for more information please also visit Federal Student Aid.

Additional guidelines and a precise procedure will be provided by the Department of Education on how the loan forgiveness plan will be implemented. Check back often for updates, and if you'd like to be the first to know, sign up for email updates from the U.S. Department of Education.

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Locating Your Loan Servicers

Visit Federal Student Aid to log in and locate your federal loan servicer(s). Contact your loan servicer for additional details.

Loans are financial aid awards that require repayment with interest under varying terms and conditions. Borrowers must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and meet eligibility requirements to receive loans. 

Interest rate and loan fees for the year are determined annually on July 1.

Direct Unsubsidized Loan

Available to graduate and professional students; eligibility is not based on financial need.

• Minimum: $200
• Maximum: $20,500

Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

Eligibility is not based on financial need, but a credit check is required. Borrowers who have an adverse credit history must meet additional requirements to qualify. 

• Minimum: $200
• Maximum: varies by student

To calculate maximum use: cost of attendance minus estimated financial assistance = PLUS Loan eligibility. Estimated financial assistance includes grants, scholarships, sponsorships, fee remissions, and other department resources.

Dream Loan

The California DREAM Loan Program provides eligible AB540 graduate students with the option to borrow loans to help cover college expenses while attending UC Davis. Students who demonstrate financial aid eligibility will be offered a DREAM loan. The amount offered may vary based on the academic year and available funding.

• Minimum: $200
• Maximum: $4,000

Additional Resources for Undocumented/DACAmented Students

For more information, please visit UC California Dream Act Application tips provided by the University of California. CSAC also provides useful resources about the CADAA. We also have listed a variety of resources available to undocumented/DACAmented students, including scholarship opportunities:

• AB540 and Undocumented/DACAmented Student Center
• Chicana/Latina Foundation
• Immigrants Rising
• FinAid - The Go-to Guide for College Financial Aid
• MALDEF - The Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America
• Osher REENTRY Scholarship Program for UC Davis Students
• Outside Scholarships for AB540 Students

Information on AB540

Until the passage of the Dream Act, undocumented/DACAmented students were not eligible for state or university-funded financial aid. Under this law, undocumented/DACAmented students who qualify under AB540 criteria may now be eligible for certain types of financial aid. The CADAA is used to determine a student's eligibility for need-based financial aid. For information on what this means for you at UC Davis, please see the UC's Applying for Financial Aid webpage.

Information on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several key guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and would then be eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer the removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Deferred action does not provide an individual with lawful status. For more information visit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals webpage.

For detailed information on the California Dream Act, please visit the CSAC website.

Steps to apply for loans

• Log into MyAwards
  • Accept or decline the loan. Complete the next steps if you accepted the loan(s).
  • Go to the requirements tab. Review and complete loan requirements:
    • Promissory Note 
    • Entrance Counseling 
• Review important dates to confirm when the school will begin to satisfy loan requirements. Keep confirmation of the completed requirements for your records.

Declining or reducing loans

Borrowers can decline all or part of the loan. Direct loan fund revisions may be requested within 120 days of the disbursement date. A balance may be created if the loan funds you are declining have already been applied to your MyBill account. Visit MyBill to review and repay any account balances created by the revision request.

Note: If the request is received outside of the 120-day disbursement period, the school will make a partial loan revision and direct you to the appropriate loan servicer for repayment guidance.

Steps to decline/reduce loan:

• Log into MyAwards
  • Select "Awards"
  • Scroll down to select “submit a change in aid request”
  • Select "Make changes to my loans"
  • Submit form for processing