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The magic and misdirection of public service loan forgiveness in the United States
Author(s) -
Miller Julie B.,
Rutledge Matthew S.,
Yoquinto Luke,
Coughlin Joseph
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
higher education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.976
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1468-2273
pISSN - 0951-5224
DOI - 10.1111/hequ.12364
Subject(s) - forgiveness , loan , meaning (existential) , student loan , magic (telescope) , sociology , public relations , business , psychology , social psychology , political science , finance , psychotherapist , physics , quantum mechanics
In recent years, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program has garnered more attention among student loan borrowers in the United States as a potential source of loan relief. However—at least prior to the PSLF Program Overhaul introduced in October 2021—arduous eligibility criteria, opaque communication on the part of the U.S. Department of Education and contracted loan servicers, and ongoing threats to the continuation of the program made for a skittish and frustrated group of enrollees. This article leverages a mixed methods study to explore the meaning borrowers ascribe to prospective loan forgiveness and interrogates how magical thinking contributes to enrollees' perspectives on prospective loan forgiveness. With several of these sources of meaning standing in conflict with each other and with confidence in personal prospects of loan forgiveness fairly low, we argue that magical thinking overlays the meaning of potential loan forgiveness among some borrowers.