LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Javan reed is proud of his bachelor's, master’s and Ph.D. degrees, but they came at a cost. 

“I've racked up a lot of debt. I owe in excess of $100,000 in student debt for three degrees,” said Reed. 

Reed applied for President Biden's onetime student loan forgiveness of up to $20,000 as soon as the application became available Monday afternoon.

What You Need To Know

  • The application for President Biden’s onetime student loan forgiveness application is available 

  • The application can be completed in five minutes 

  • Students can receive up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness

  • The deadline to apply for student debt relief is Dec. 31, 2023

He said he completed the application in less than 5 minutes and with a few clicks. 

“I will not not be excited or happy or dance or shout out for $20,000 in reduction into student loan debt,” said Reed. 

Reed is the vice president of academic affairs at Simmons College of Kentucky. He creates programs that help nontraditional students like incarcerated and working people get a college education. 

Reed said he would not be where he is if he hadn't taken out federal loans to pay for his education. 

“I’m sitting in the space now where I get an opportunity to make a difference every day in the lives of students as well as faculty members and staff here at Simmons College of Kentucky,” said Reed. “And so that the two aren't parallel in terms of what the cost of college and then what I'm able to do with the degree.”

Reed has worked in higher education for 12 years, but he has not had any luck receiving help through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. 

He is more hopeful for this onetime debt cancelation through Biden’s executive order. 

“College was not affordable,” said Reed. “I was one of those nontraditional students that pretty much had to stop out and then rejoin college a second time and then I was successful, but that was after understanding that I was carrying the debt, not the degree so it was even more of a determination to do what needed to be done,” says Reed. 

Reed is hoping soon he will log in to his federal loan account and see the number he owes reduced by at least $10,000. It would help him reach his goal of one day being student debt free. 

The deadline to apply for student loan forgiveness is Dec. 31, 2023. 

Student loan payments restart at the beginning of the new year.

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