“There are 126 different options that a married couple with federal loans needs to try to pick through and no one is explaining this to people,” he says. “That’s why there’s so much confusion.” Amrein—who explains this figure is based on nine repayment options, seven tax filing/loan combinations and two people—says it could be beneficial for married couples with student loans to file taxes separately. College Affordability’s Pay For ED software, officially launched in 2018, seeks to improve transparency, he says.
Before taking on college debt, Amrein suggests that students and their families compare college aid award letters, consider potential career earnings and be mindful that it’s a lot easier to access loans than it is to pay them off. But he disagrees with the often-cited statement that people should limit student debt to their first-year salary after graduation. “If that were the case,” he says, “we wouldn’t have any doctors anymore.”