Stacked one dollar bills.
(Photo via Unsplash)

Politicians and pundits have started talking about the overwhelming problem of student debt and what to do about the $1.6 trillion that Americans collectively owe. 

Recently, President-elect Joe Biden spoke about his support for student loan forgiveness that could offer $10,000 in relief and has said that canceling some of the $1.6 trillion in student debt is part of his economic recovery plan. 

But we realize that this is a national issue with local concerns. 

PublicSource wants to report on how college debt has impacted the lives of Pittsburgh residents and we need your help. How have college loans factored into your financial decision-making? Do you believe $10,000 is enough or too little relief? How has college debt impacted your life overall? 

We want to hear your stories and learn how student debt has been affecting you. Tell us about your experience borrowing money for college and what it is like to have student loans. Please fill out the survey and leave us your contact information so we can reach back out and talk to you. Your replies will be read only by our higher education reporter and editors.

We don't have paywalls — but your support helps us bridge crucial information gaps.

Readers tell us they can't find the information they get from our reporting anywhere else, and we're glad to provide this important service for our community. We work hard to produce accurate, timely, impactful journalism without paywalls that keeps our region informed and moving forward.

However, only about .1% of the people who read our stories contribute to our work financially. Our newsroom depends on the generosity of readers like yourself to make our high-quality local journalism possible, and the costs of the resources it takes to produce it have been rising, so each member means a lot to us.

Your donation to our nonprofit newsroom helps ensure everyone in Allegheny County can stay up-to-date about decisions and events that affect them. Please make your gift of support now.

GIVE NOW

Naomi Harris was the higher education reporter for PublicSource from November 2020 to October 2021 in partnership with Open Campus.