CHARLOTTE, N.C. — College was always in the playbook for Jennifer McLean.

Her 2017 Master's Degree was an extra step she took to open more opportunities. However, three years later, school is anything but over. Now, she owes more than $70,000 in student loans but she's not the only one living with student debt.

The Institute for College Access and Success says more than six in 10 college seniors graduate with debt that averages $28,590 dollars. In North Carolina the number is a little lower at $26,583.
 
“Other than my mortgage that's my main debt I have. I don't really have credit, debt or anything like that,” McLean says.
 
McLean, who's a substance use prevention specialist, is also on a income driven repayment plan –which means her student payments are based on how much she makes.

On a salary of around $46,000 she pays $250 a month.
 
“I have to pay for a car, I have bills, I have a mortgage, I have to save...it seems reasonable but it still feels like a burden,” McLean says.
 
President-Elect Joe Biden has said he supports $10,000 per borrower in student debt relief. It's a fraction of what some other Democratic politicians would like but still a big action.
 
“$10,000 for every single borrower would be a massive federal investment in reducing student loan debt,” says Davidson College Assistant Professor in Education Chris Marsicano.
 
Marsicano says student debt is a problem that's gotten worse, but he hesitates to call it a major crisis. He says the people with the largest debts are also those making the highest salaries. He says any government assistance should come with systemic changes.
 
“If we give every borrower a $10,000 reduction in loans now, if we don't change the system we'll be back to where we are in five to 10 years from now,” he says.
 
McLean's idea of change is a little grander than $10,000. She would like all debt from community college and public university's undergraduate programs to be paid off. She says if that happened, she could reinvest money into the economy.
 
“Financial freedom is so important especially when you think about building a family,” McLean says.
 
Even so, she says $10,000 of relief is better than nothing.
 
It's unclear how President-Elect Joe Biden would put in place his student debt plan, whether he would use an executive action, or go through Congress.

Spectrum News One reached out to Biden's team but it had nothing new to share.