Starting New Year's Eve, New York will allow recent college students to apply for debt relief.

The "Get on Your Feet" loan forgiveness program allows only individuals who attended a college or university within New York State and earned an undergraduate degree. Further eligibility requirements include having an adjusted gross income of less than $50,000 and enrolled in the federal Income Based Repayment plan or the Pay as You Earn plan. According to a statement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, recipients will have a maximum of 24 payments that equals to their monthly student loan repayment amount, paid on their behalf.

The program is also only available for students who graduated in or after December 2014.

"Ensuring students are able pay for college and not saddled with debt is critical for both their individual success and the continued economic growth of New York State," Cuomo said in a statement. "With this program, we are telling recent graduates: if you invest in New York's future, we will invest in yours."

While the rate of Latinos attending higher education has been increasing, a report indicated Latino students are "more adverse" to accepting student loans "even when they face substantial financial need for school." Based on a survey, Latinos were found to borrow less than black and white students attending public institutions. At private for-profit institutions, however, Latinos are likely to take on the same amount for students loans, or higher, as other students, which may still attribute to high debt rates.

The College Board reported Latinos undergraduates accrued $49,700 in student loan debt, slightly less than the $54,000 from white students but still higher than other minority groups. Lower interest rates have been said to be another option to help Latinos advance in higher education. Based on 2011 data, 13.2 percent of Latinos, over the age of 25, had bachelor's degrees, but the figure is down considerably from the 31.8 percent to white students.

Essentially, Latinos are taking out riskier loans at a higher interest rate than their counterparts, creating scenarios where they will be paying back more money over a longer period of time. This leads to adverse effects on young Latinos' ability to achieve the symbols of the American dream, such as purchasing a home, starting a family, or opening a small business," wrote Amiclar Guzman for The Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy earlier this year. "Policymakers, university administrators, and advocates all have a role to play in ensuring that Latinos graduate from college with as little debt as possible."

While applications for the "Get on Your Feet" program will open on Dec. 31, applications will be accepted all year round. Through the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, more than 2,500 class of 2015 graduates have already registered to apply for the program, but over 24,000 applications are expected in 2020, once the program becomes fully implemented.

As of the end of March, student loan debt has hit more than $1.2 trillion, regardless of ethnicity.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

Related