DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Thursday was move-in day at St. Norbert College. First-year students took over campus with moving boxes throughout the day.
The big move in comes one day after President Joe Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plan.
“It’s exciting to see all new people and see the crowd and experiences here at St. Norbert,” said Raianna Evans, a new student from the Fox Cities.
Evans will be studying political science. After the Biden administration’s $300 billion plan on student loan forgiveness, she says she’s looking into it and reading about it a lot. Evans says it’d help her, but it also comes with some worries.
“You also kind of have to look where we’re at inflation- and economy-wise. You want to look at those things before doing any of that.”
Current students would only be eligible for relief if their loans were originated before July 1, 2022. But President Biden is proposing to limit the amount that borrowers pay monthly on undergraduate loans at 5% of their earnings, instead of 10%.
“We’re happy for it,” said SNC Interim President Tom Kunkel.
Kunkel says around 70% of students who graduate from SNC have debt. Of those who have debt, the average is about $35,000.
“Our students, we work with them to try to make sure their experience here is affordable, they’re going on to great jobs.”.
Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year — or married couples earning less than $250,000 — would be eligible for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness under Biden’s new plan.
If a borrower received a Pell Grant as an undergraduate student, they would be eligible for up to $20,000 in forgiveness.
“My daughter has always been our front runner to prove a point, and that point is doing her best every day,” said Marcus Evans, proud father of Raianna.
Evans tells FOX 11 he’s happy about the forgiveness since it can give others hope to achieve their dreams.
“It’s something that helps all parents. It really does bring any kid from any community up to a superb college like this to help them with their future.”
Thursday also kicks off SNC’s “Week of Welcome,” which is designed to help students transition into the college community.
SNC also released some statistics about the Class of 2026. Of the 529 incoming students, 487 students are first-years; 36 transferred from other schools. Six students are international students. And the class’s average GPA is 3.6.
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