Czarina Grace Del Valle Culture 06.16.2021 22:Jun PM EDT

Student Loan Forgiveness 2021: How to Apply for Borrower Defense After Massive Loan Cancellation

The Biden Administration and Department of Education approved another $500 million loan relief to 18,000 student borrowers. Individuals who attended ITT Technical Institute (ITT) are eligible to receive 100 percent of loan discharge after properly applying their requirements.

With the new borrower's relief program, thousands of borrowers are given a fresh start and zero debt. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, per a press release: "Today's action is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's continued commitment to stand up for borrowers when their institutions take advantage of them. ... This work also emphasizes the need for ongoing accountability so that institutions will never be able to commit this kind of widespread deception again."

This new wave of loan cancellation brings a total of $1.5 billion relief support for over 90,000 borrowers.

Student Loan Cancellation

Yahoo! Finance reported that officials found ITT to misrepresent their students, giving false hopes that they could get better jobs when, in reality, having ITT on their resumes made it harder to find employment. The latest wave of loan forgiveness allows borrowers with federal student loans to have their debts erased if their school did anything illegal, deceptive or abruptly went out of business.

Note that student loan cancellation is another program to support families suffering from the pandemic's effects. This serves as a monetary aid for students unfortunately buried in loans with its rapidly increasing interest and without financial means to pay them back. The president offers his executive authority to cancel up to $10,000 of student debt.

In this wave, students from the ITT will benefit the most. However, Forbes reported that students can expect even more support in the future. The Biden Administration has at least four ways to enact student loan cancelation. This includes (1) Biden's legal authority to cancel student loans, (2) Biden indirectly cancels loans without legal authority, (3) Biden enacts student loan cancelation on a scheduled basis, and (4) Biden works with Congress to approve student loan forgiveness.

How to Apply for Borrower Defense

Students can apply for the Borrower Defense right now! This could cancel some, or all, of your federal student loan debt. As mentioned, if your school misled you or committed a violation of certain state laws, then you are eligible for "borrower defense to loan for repayment forgiveness." Qualified individuals, especially students from IIT, should immediately follow the steps below:

Head to the Federal Student Aid website
Click on "Apply for Borrower Defense"
When applying, you would be required to close all your internet browser tabs except for the application page. Also, complete your application before the 15-minute time that automatically logs you out for inactivity
You can choose to apply online by creating an Account on the Federal Student Aid Website
You can also choose to apply offline by downloading the available PDF file, completing its form, and submitting it by email or mail to the US Department of Education office.