Reply to S/o - would you allow child to take out loans for dream school

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the subsidized Stafford loan limits--a total of $23,000 for 4 years--provide a good rule of thumb, and that's the max that I would feel comfortable allowing my child to borrow. A total debt of $23k means a monthly payment of about $260, which would be manageable even if my kid dropped out or couldn't find a job and had to wait tables. So that works out to borrowing less than $6k per year.

In almost all circumstances dependent undergrads can borrow only up to a total of $31k on their own, and only up to $5500 freshman year. Beyond that, someone needs to cosign. Under no circumstances would I cosign a college loan for my child. It is simply not something I would do for a child who had in-state options that I could afford; doing so would violate my financial sensibilities (for my kid and for myself).

I don't believe in the concept of "dream" school as it's commonly defined. If you can't afford it, that's a nightmare, not a dream, lol. My kids understand that they can't leave the state unless the price is right, no matter how much they love a school.[/quote]

I agree with this. Modest loans are fine - and [i]may[/i] help a student take ownership of his/her education - but nothing more.

We have rising HS senior, and we've been open about money from the beginning of the college process. She knows how much we can pay, and she knows that we will not go over that number. She actually knocked a couple of interesting schools out early in her investigations because they were expensive and didn't give merit aid (or not for students with her profile). Better to eliminate them early before falling in love with an unaffordable school.

Plus, she is not the kind of kid who has a "dream school." She has a good list of affordable schools she likes, and she'd be happy to attend any one of them. It's her younger sister I worry about - she's more the dream school type, but the story remains the same. Modest loans only, and no going above the number.[/quote]

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