SEATTLE — Student loan payments resumed on Sunday after a three-and-a-half-year pandemic pause allowed millions of Americans to push off repaying trillions of dollars in student loan debt.
In Washington, there are more than 804,000 people who have student loan debt totaling $29 billion.
"It's kind of disheartening and scary," said Griffin Bird, a senior at the University of Washington.
Despite payments not being due until 6 months after someone leaves school, interest starts accruing in September, and the stress of knowing what's coming has him already worried.
"It's stressful to be getting the emails saying 'Hey it's time to start repayments,' especially when for a long time it seems like there were promises these loans would be forgiven," said Bird.
The delayed payments were initially included in the CARES Act signed into law by President Trump.
President Biden then announced the pause would extend another year, before announcing his plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower.
The Supreme Court blocked Biden's plan in June paving the way for student loan payments to resume.
Washington's $29 billion tab is far less than more populated states like Texas' $127 billion but higher than Oregon's $20 billion.
KING 5 reached out to the Washington Student Achievement Council, an agency that advocates for the benefits of higher education, about the grim numbers facing the Evergreen State.
They declined an interview, but the Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU) Advises Borrowers worried about making payments to seek help now through their lender or through resources at the Office of Federal Student Aid.
"Down the line, you may be needing an auto loan, you may be ready to apply for that mortgage.. and this can really impact your credit rating," said Ann Flannigan, Vice President of Public Relations at WSECU.
The Biden administration made updates to the income-based SAVE plan and the US Department of Education announced an "on-ramp" period, starting now and lasting for a year, where a late or missed payment won't impact credit reporting - but interest will still accrue.
In fact, data from the US Department of Education shows the average debt for those 24 and under is around $13,000. That jumps to $31,000 for those 25-34 and even higher at $44,000 for people 35-43.
"There's clearly some impetus at the national level to try to find some solutions for long-term student debt, but it's not a good bet to just count on," said Flannigan who stresses there are ways to bring your monthly payments down no matter your age.
Meanwhile, students at the University of Washington are left facing the realities of the student loan crisis.
"When I finally leave school I will have $150,000 of student loan debt," said first-year grad student Sydney Browne.
Like many students, Browne is getting two jobs on campus including TA-ing to help pay rent and living expenses right now.
"I'm scared and trying not to think about it," Browne added.