Millions are seeking new ways to help pay off their college loans after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 per borrower.

The plan would have canceled up to $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients and up to $20,000 for people with Pell Grants. Only individuals who make less than $125,000 and couples who make less than $250,000 would have qualified.

“I know there are millions of Americans, millions of Americans, in this country who feel disappointed and discouraged,” Biden said after the ruling.

That includes 22-year-old Audrey Browning, a recent University of Louisville graduate. She took out about $30,000 in student loans for her bachelor’s degree and will soon pursue her master’s as well.

“It all, kind of, just came back over me,” Browning said. “I just know how much I’m going to have to pay, especially going into a career that doesn’t pay much. Teaching does not pay much, but everyone always talks about how they need teachers.”

With a teaching certificate already secured and a passion for working with elementary school students, her hope is that a master’s will help her teach English as a second language.

“My mom is actually a teacher, so I grew up going to the classroom with her and helping her set up her classroom,” Browning explained. “I just instantly fell in love with teaching.”

Browning said the Supreme Court’s ruling took away some of the excitement she felt toward her career.

“It did just, kind of, take over my thoughts again and put burdens on my shoulders,” Browning said.

Biden created the student debt relief program under what is called the HEROES Act. The bipartisan law gives the administration power to modify student loan programs during a national emergency.

Biden said the pandemic was such a crisis, but in a 6-3 ruling the court’s conservative justices said his loan forgiveness program was so sweeping that it needed the approval of Congress first.

Republicans opposed Biden’s plan from the beginning, saying that they believed it was unfair to those who decided not to take out student loans.

In a statement, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., celebrated the court’s decision, saying it dealt a “heavy blow to Democrats’ distorted and outsized view of executive power.”

Payments on student loans have been paused since 2020 due to the pandemic. The White House said earlier this year that the pause would not be extended again. As a result, student loans will resume accruing interest in September. 

Biden pledged to pursue another avenue of student debt forgiveness, this time involving authorizations within the Higher Education Act of 1965 that would allow Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to compromise, waive or release loans.