“This is the right thing to do for the country and the right thing to do for the economy,” Muñoz said.

Currently, Americans owe more in student loans than in credit card debt, Muñoz said. Muñoz also said the average college graduate has accumulated more than $30,000 in debt by the time of graduation. 

Obama expanded the “Pay As You Earn” plan on Monday through a presidential memorandum. The “Pay As You Earn” plan allows graduates to pay 10 percent of their monthly income toward student loan debt.

Obama also endorsed legislation which would allow those with outstanding student loan debt to refinance at lower interest rates. 

Obama answered questions about the program expansion via Tumblr later that day.

Joined by Tumblr CEO David Karp, Obama answered questions from Tumblr users. He touched on how he plans to lower the amount of student debt Americans face in addition to ways students can save money.

Obama said state legislatures have stopped subsidizing universities as much as they used to, causing tuition rates to rise.

To combat this, Obama said he wants to lower cost of college on the front end which would make debt more manageable.

Due to the large amount of debt students face, Obama said many Americans question attending school at all.

Obama said attending college is a smart investment, but also knowing what you’re investing in is important.

“Too many young people see college as a box to check or a place to have fun and extend adolescence as opposed to an opportunity for each of us to figure out what we're good at,” Obama said.

In addition to addressing debt, Obama discussed choosing degrees where there is a demand, such as engineering and computer science, but also suggested students do what they ultimately have a passion for.

“What we can do is expose young people to enough actual work and occupations that they start getting a feel for what they might be interested in,” Obama said.