I remember the moment I opened my first financial aid package before I started college. It was the biggest financial expense I would ever have to take on.
The numbers on the page weren’t just figures; they were my ticket to a future because, Lord knows, I didn’t have the hundreds and thousands to pay for it myself.
Like so many students, I depended on grants and federal loans to make college a reality. Now, with talks of dismantling the Department of Education gaining momentum, I can’t help but think: what happens to students like me if that resource is cut off?
The Department of Education isn’t just some bureaucratic entity — it’s the backbone of higher education access for millions. Each year, it administers over $100 billion in federal student aid, including Pell Grants and subsidized loans, which disproportionately benefit Black students. More than 5,000 colleges and universities rely on this aid to support students. If the department disappears, so does the infrastructure that ensures these funds are efficiently distributed.
We’ve already seen what happens when financial aid systems face instability. The botched rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA application delayed funding for thousands of students, leaving them scrambling to cover tuition. Now, imagine that uncertainty on a permanent scale. Shutting down the Department of Education means transferring these responsibilities elsewhere—possibly to the Treasury Department—but there is no guarantee that such a shift would be smooth. If anything, experts warn that it could cause massive disruptions, disproportionately impacting students from low-income and marginalized backgrounds.
Black students are already at a disadvantage when it comes to student debt. On average, students graduate with $25,000 more in student loans than our white counterparts. The Department of Education has played a critical role in setting policies that protect borrowers from capping interest rates to forgiving loans for students defrauded by predatory institutions. Who will ensure borrowers don’t fall deeper into debt without this oversight? Handing the reins to private lenders and banks—institutions that have historically discriminated against Black Americans—feels like a setup for disaster.
Some Republicans argue that eliminating the Department of Education will cut government waste and give states more control over education. However, leaving financial aid decisions to individual states could create deep disparities, especially in places with histories of racial discrimination in education funding. It’s naïve to believe that local governments will suddenly prioritize Black students when many have already underfunded our schools for generations.
The move to dismantle the department is not just about reducing government size; it’s about shifting priorities away from the students who need most support. The most recent policy blueprints for a second Trump administration, such as Project 2025, lay out plans to gut student civil rights protections and cut oversight mechanisms that hold colleges accountable.
Higher education has long been one of the most promising paths to economic mobility. If we allow the Department of Education to be dismantled, we risk making college even more inaccessible for the very people who have historically been shut out.
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