Within the last month the Trump administration has signed multiple executive orders making changes throughout the United States. On January 27, 2025, a memo was sent out declaring a pause on all federal loans. This was temporarily blocked by Federal Judge Loren L. AliKhan nearly 24 hours later.
There is very little information that has come out since, yet everyone seems to want to talk about the possibilities. There are certain grants and loans protected by law that will go untouched, like the Federal Student Aid program and Pell grants. This means most students receiving their loans from FAFSA may not be impacted. However – what happens to those who are?
“For students that maybe don’t come from wealthy families, that’s gonna be really difficult for them to get that higher education to be able to make good money, especially in our current economy,” Sofia Abulhosn (12) said.
Before this, Abulhosn felt she was uneducated about the topic because it was not talked about. For an event or policy change that would impact a profound number of students, there is not enough information to prepare anyone for what is to come.
“I just don’t have enough information right now,” Lisa Smythe-Rodino said. “Many students, not only at Arlington, but at the community college and colleges, rely on loans in order to get their education.”
Rodino works closely with students, helping them with financial aid forms and informing them on the process and how federal loans work. This is a topic she feels students are unprepared and uneducated about.
“I just don’t think students know or understand enough about it,” Rodino said.
There are questions being asked everywhere, yet very few answers come from it. This gives those reliant on loans little to no explanation or idea of what their future may look like.
Trump’s administration has signed a variety of Executive Orders since the start of his presidency. With multiple going into effect all at once, it is challenging to keep track of what everything means, and the future possibilities of each.
According to an article written by Chris Megerian and Lindsay Whitehurst, published in the Associated Press, “Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services… [people] are trying to figure out what it means ‘based on zero information.’”
This lack of information about the future plans of the policy creates an unfair playing field for anyone in the middle class or below.
“Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps. But they sometimes struggled to provide a clear picture,” Megerian and Whitehurst said.
The administration has continued to declare changes without additional information for what these might entail. Rather than clarifying what will be impacted, they have decided to share what will not change. To some this is more beneficial, while others find it challenging to know if they will have to change their routine.
Without more information from the Trump administration, citizens all over the US are continuously struggling to guarantee their funds will be protected under the previously signed budget that congress has created. This is unfair to people throughout the country who are reliant on this support.
“It makes me sad. If students want to go to college, I want them to be able to go to college,” Rodino said.
