Paying off student loans can seem like an impossible task, especially when high interest rates mean loan amounts keep increasing. But student loan relief can provide a lifeline for borrowers in need.
Learn More: I’m a Retirement Planner: 7 Ways I Am Guiding Clients Now That Trump Won
Discover More: How To Financially Plan for the New Year Under the New Trump Presidency
A 2024 survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revealed that nearly 61% of borrowers who received debt relief reported the relief gave them the opportunity to make a beneficial change in their life sooner than they otherwise could have.
But with President-elect Donald Trump poised to take office in January, existing student loan relief programs are in jeopardy, meaning borrowers could face substantial changes to their monthly payments and their student loan debt.
Advertisement
In August 2022, the Biden-Harris administration launched the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan to help borrowers better manage their student loan payments. This income-driven repayment plan offers several benefits to borrowers:
Loan payments are calculated based on a borrower’s income and family size, rather than basing payments on their loan balance.
Qualifying borrowers’ remaining balances can also be forgiven after a certain number of years.
Many borrowers’ monthly payments are reduced, and some borrowers don’t owe monthly payments at all.
If borrowers keep up with their monthly payments, the Department of Education won’t charge monthly interest that isn’t covered by the payments, so borrowers’ balances will decrease, and they can more easily pay off the loans.
While on the campaign trail, Trump called President Joe Biden’s planned student loan forgiveness “vile,” blaming student loan relief for increasing the federal deficit.
Check Out: How To Financially Plan for the New Year Under the New Trump Presidency
Bill Townsend, founder and CEO of College Rover, predicted that Trump will end the SAVE plan as part of a concerted effort by many conservatives to change the appeal and direction of college education.
“Interestingly enough, there is a contractual law issue that will arise from public servants who were contractually bound to certain jobs in exchange for student loan forgiveness,” Townsend explained. “Assuming SAVE, which included this preexisting loan forgiveness contract, is voided, there will be the potential for a class action lawsuit against the U.S. government.”
Advertisement
However, Townsend predicted that Trump could void the lawsuit with an executive action.
According to Reilly Renwick, chief marketing officer at Pragmatic Mortgage Lending, ending the SAVE plan would disrupt income-driven repayment options that are essential to many borrowers, particularly those with lower incomes and larger student loan debt.
“A move to roll back these provisions could significantly affect [borrowers’] financial planning and repayment strategies,” he explained.
Renwick predicted that if the SAVE plan is terminated, many borrowers’ monthly payments would increase.
Advertisement
“Those enrolled in income-driven repayment programs would feel the brunt of the impact,” he explained. “This is especially prevalent for borrowers with a larger student loan balance but lower incomes who rely on reduced payments, as they soon would have to face quite the financial strain if the plan were dismantled.”
In November, the Biden administration began the process of implementing two student loan repayment options. Recognizing that Trump likely would end the SAVE plan, these new plans offer additional support to borrowers.
Income Based Repayment (IBR), an older program, allows borrowers to make monthly payments based on their incomes, but those rates are often higher than the rates provided by the SAVE plan.
The Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan can give borrowers reasonable monthly payment amounts and features a 20-year student loan forgiveness term. To qualify, borrowers must have a financial hardship and must meet restrictions on when they took out federal student loans.
According to Renwick, it’s highly unlikely that any large-scale student loan forgiveness initiatives will be planned under the Trump administration.
Advertisement
“Given Trump’s prior opposition to broad forgiveness programs, it’s expected that any relief efforts would be narrower in scope,” he said, “potentially focusing on more targeted groups rather than sweeping cancellation policies.”
Townsend recommended that borrowers start planning for the potential implications of the student loan changes that Trump is likely to implement. He suggested that borrowers stop any frivolous spending, including curtailing vacations and eating out. Doing so can help borrowers to save money and better prepare for the larger loan payments they may face.
He recommended that individuals considering attending college reassess their college options. Local and community colleges may provide more affordable programs than out-of-state public or private schools. Even if you receive a scholarship from a school that’s far away, recognize that you will still be responsible for travel costs, and those can add up.
“Borrow as little as possible and realistically look at career choices and potential salaries to make sure you can afford the education you have chosen,” Townsend advised.
When it comes to taking out student loans, Townsend highlighted the importance of being sure that you fully understand the loan. Take the time to read every contract. If you don’t understand the terms, ask a family member, family friend or high school counselor for help understanding the loan so that you can make a well-informed decision.
Advertisement
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Financial Experts’ 2025 Predictions for Student Loan Debt Under President Trump
Cornell University administrator Warren Petrofsky will serve as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ new dean of administration and finance, charged with spearheading efforts to shore up the school’s finances as it faces a hefty budget deficit.
Petrofsky’s appointment, announced in a Friday email from FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra to FAS affiliates, will begin April 20 — nearly a year after former FAS dean of administration and finance Scott A. Jordan stepped down. Petrofsky will replace interim dean Mary Ann Bradley, who helped shape the early stages of FAS cost-cutting initiatives.
Petrofsky currently serves as associate dean of administration at Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
As dean, he oversaw a budget cut of nearly $11 million to the institution’s College of Arts and Sciences after the federal government slashed at least $250 million in stop-work orders and frozen grants, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.
He also serves on a work group established in November 2025 to streamline the school’s administrative systems.
Advertisement
Earlier, at the University of Pennsylvania, Petrofsky managed capital initiatives and organizational redesigns in a number of administrative roles.
Petrofsky is poised to lead similar efforts at the FAS, which relaunched its Resources Committee in spring 2025 and created a committee to consolidate staff positions amid massive federal funding cuts.
As part of its planning process, the committee has quietly brought on external help. Over several months, consultants from McKinsey & Company have been interviewing dozens of administrators and staff across the FAS.
Petrofsky will also likely have a hand in other cost-cutting measures across the FAS, which is facing a $365 million budget deficit. The school has already announced it will keep spending flat for the 2026 fiscal year, and it has dramatically reduced Ph.D. admissions.
In her email, Hoekstra praised Petrofsky’s performance across his career.
Advertisement
“Warren has emphasized transparency, clarity in communication, and investment in staff development,” she wrote. “He approaches change with steadiness and purpose, and with deep respect for the mission that unites our faculty, researchers, staff, and students. I am confident that he will be a strong partner to me and to our community.”
—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at amannsm.38. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.
My spreadsheet reviewed a WalletHub ranking of financial distress for the residents of 100 U.S. cities, including 17 in California. The analysis compared local credit scores, late bill payments, bankruptcy filings and online searches for debt or loans to quantify where individuals had the largest money challenges.
When California cities were divided into three geographic regions – Southern California, the Bay Area, and anything inland – the most challenges were often found far from the coast.
The average national ranking of the six inland cities was 39th worst for distress, the most troubled grade among the state’s slices.
Bakersfield received the inland region’s worst score, ranking No. 24 highest nationally for financial distress. That was followed by Sacramento (30th), San Bernardino (39th), Stockton (43rd), Fresno (45th), and Riverside (52nd).
Advertisement
Southern California’s seven cities overall fared better, with an average national ranking of 56th largest financial problems.
However, Los Angeles had the state’s ugliest grade, ranking fifth-worst nationally for monetary distress. Then came San Diego at 22nd-worst, then Long Beach (48th), Irvine (70th), Anaheim (71st), Santa Ana (85th), and Chula Vista (89th).
Monetary challenges were limited in the Bay Area. Its four cities average rank was 69th worst nationally.
San Jose had the region’s most distressed finances, with a No. 50 worst ranking. That was followed by Oakland (69th), San Francisco (72nd), and Fremont (83rd).
The results remind us that inland California’s affordability – it’s home to the state’s cheapest housing, for example – doesn’t fully compensate for wages that typically decline the farther one works from the Pacific Ocean.
Advertisement
A peek inside the scorecard’s grades shows where trouble exists within California.
Credit scores were the lowest inland, with little difference elsewhere. Late payments were also more common inland. Tardy bills were most difficult to find in Northern California.
Bankruptcy problems also were bubbling inland, but grew the slowest in Southern California. And worrisome online searches were more frequent inland, while varying only slightly closer to the Pacific.
Note: Across the state’s 17 cities in the study, the No. 53 average rank is a middle-of-the-pack grade on the 100-city national scale for monetary woes.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
The up-and-coming fintech scored a pair of fourth-quarter beats.
Diversified fintech Chime Financial(CHYM +12.88%) was playing a satisfying tune to investors on Thursday. The company’s stock flew almost 14% higher that trading session, thanks mostly to a fourth quarter that featured notably higher-than-expected revenue guidance.
Sweet music
Chime published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Wednesday. For the former period, the company’s revenue was $596 million, bettering the same quarter of 2024 by 25%. The company’s strongest revenue stream, payments, rose 17% to $396 million. Its take from platform-related activity rose more precipitously, advancing 47% to $200 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meanwhile, Chime’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than doubled. It was $45 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a fourth-quarter 2024 deficit of $19.6 million.
Advertisement
On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling revenue below $578 million and a deeper bottom-line loss of $0.20 per share.
In its earnings release, Chime pointed to the take-up of its Chime Card as a particular catalyst for growth. Regarding the product, the company said, “Among new member cohorts, over half are adopting Chime Card, and those members are putting over 70% of their Chime spend on the product, which earns materially higher take rates compared to debit.”
Today’s Change
(12.88%) $2.72
Current Price
$23.83
Advertisement
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$7.9B
Day’s Range
$22.30 – $24.63
52wk Range
Advertisement
$16.17 – $44.94
Volume
562K
Avg Vol
3.3M
Advertisement
Gross Margin
86.34%
Double-digit growth expected
Chime management proffered revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2026. The company expects to post a top line of $627 million to $637 million, which would represent at least 21% growth over the 2024 result. Adjusted EBITDA should be $380 million to $400 million. No net income forecasts were provided in the earnings release.
It isn’t easy to find a niche in the financial industry, which is crowded with companies offering every imaginable type of service to clients. Yet Chime seems to be achieving that, as the Chime Card is clearly a hit among the company’s target demographic of clientele underserved by mainstream banks. This growth stock is definitely worth considering as a buy.
