You can find accurate info here (this thread contains both accurate and inaccurate info): https://studentaid.gov/

This is not that complicated. Every student can take out 27K over 4 years (maybe 31K) without a co signer. My son just borrowed 5500 for his first year.

Thru summer job and our 529 and earning, we will pay the rest. Since it is instate, that 5500 is very helpful.

If we could not pay the rest, we could borrow under parent plus. I think the interest rate is 6 or 7% but not sure. We won't do that, as we feel we are too old to be taking out loans.

Or the kid can borrow more student loans in his own name, no co signer, if he can find a bank to loan to him. The interest rate would be very high--I am thinking 8 to 10%.

So the parent plus loan is cheaper than private loan for kid in his own name. I don't want to co sign and then assume the kid will pay it back. Things happen, kid drops out of school, or something and the parent is stuck with paying it back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a kid whose parents don’t qualify for need based aid take out student loans in their name? If so, how.
I thought colleges expected parents who didn’t qualify for aid to pay the entire cost themselves.
What if a parent is unwilling to foot the entire bill? How does a kid go about securing their own loans?

This about this OP. Why would anyone lend money to a kid who has nothing without someone cosigning it?

There a number of ways to pay for college - military, CC, parents pay, merit aid, parents cosign. If you are not willing to accept any of these choices, your kid is screwed.

Yeah pretty much. Although it IS still possible to pay for college with the $27k loans (low interest), a job during the summer and school year, maybe going to community college, graduating 1 to 3 semesters early, and a few other ways.

I believe it is $31,000 now. And yes, if your parents totally cut you off it’s frankly quite easy to get through a public U degree with that $31,000, scholarships, work-study jobs, internships, and AP credits to finish in 3 years instead of 4. Maybe not the most fun route but doable. And of course there’s always ROTC.

...let’s not forget you can do a few years of desk duty in the military like JD Vance did to get free college and all the other military benefits.

I hear often that it’s $31,000 but I think you need to be an independent to get that much without a co-signer? I’m pretty sure for the typical dependent student (as defined by FAFSA) the limit is $27,000.

I used to adjunct at a community college and had a lot of students who were only at that college because they couldn't get loans to go to a four year.

Some examples of why their parents couldn't/wouldn't co-sign:
- The student came out as gay and the parents disowned him
- The parents didn't have a good enough credit to even qualify them to cosign
- The student didn't have any living family to cosign
- The parents weren't in the country and/or weren't legal immigrants and couldn't cosign
- The parent would only cosign of the student agreed to do XYZ which student did not want to do
- One student told me his parents just didn't want to have to do paperwork and so community college was easier

Anonymous wrote:Lifetime max federal loans an undergraduate kid can take out are $31,000. That’s *not* each year, that’s lifetime.

All the bullshit about kids having “$100,000 in loans from an art degree and spring break trips” is fake right wing propaganda.

A lot of kids get Parent Plus loans or private loans and finish with $100k in loans. Check out r/studentloans on Reddit. I don’t agree with taking out that much in loans obviously but people do it.

I believe it is $31,000 now. And yes, if your parents totally cut you off it’s frankly quite easy to get through a public U degree with that $31,000, scholarships, work-study jobs, internships, and AP credits to finish in 3 years instead of 4. Maybe not the most fun route but doable. And of course there’s always ROTC.

...let’s not forget you can do a few years of desk duty in the military like JD Vance did after high school to get free college and all the other military benefits.

*enlist right after high school

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a kid whose parents don’t qualify for need based aid take out student loans in their name? If so, how.
I thought colleges expected parents who didn’t qualify for aid to pay the entire cost themselves.
What if a parent is unwilling to foot the entire bill? How does a kid go about securing their own loans?

This about this OP. Why would anyone lend money to a kid who has nothing without someone cosigning it?

There a number of ways to pay for college - military, CC, parents pay, merit aid, parents cosign. If you are not willing to accept any of these choices, your kid is screwed.

Yeah pretty much. Although it IS still possible to pay for college with the $27k loans (low interest), a job during the summer and school year, maybe going to community college, graduating 1 to 3 semesters early, and a few other ways.

I believe it is $31,000 now. And yes, if your parents totally cut you off it’s frankly quite easy to get through a public U degree with that $31,000, scholarships, work-study jobs, internships, and AP credits to finish in 3 years instead of 4. Maybe not the most fun route but doable. And of course there’s always ROTC.

...let’s not forget you can do a few years of desk duty in the military like JD Vance did to get free college and all the other military benefits.

Lifetime max federal loans an undergraduate kid can take out are $31,000. That’s *not* each year, that’s lifetime.

All the bullshit about kids having “$100,000 in loans from an art degree and spring break trips” is fake right wing propaganda.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A student can borrow up to about $27,000 total through the federally guaranteed student loan program without anyone co-signing. Not chump change but certainly not enough to get you through 4 years of college.

The dept of Ed thinks that parents have an obligation to help, so a kid whose parents will not help should find a way to be formally independent before going to college.

The federal loans give worse terms to those whose parents have some means.

Np I don’t get this at all. Student loans can’t ever be discharged. So why do they need a co-signer? I know lots of middle and upper middle class people completely screwed by their parents who refused to co-sign.

Anonymous wrote:A student can borrow up to about $27,000 total through the federally guaranteed student loan program without anyone co-signing. Not chump change but certainly not enough to get you through 4 years of college.

The dept of Ed thinks that parents have an obligation to help, so a kid whose parents will not help should find a way to be formally independent before going to college.

The federal loans give worse terms to those whose parents have some means.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a kid whose parents don’t qualify for need based aid take out student loans in their name? If so, how.
I thought colleges expected parents who didn’t qualify for aid to pay the entire cost themselves.
What if a parent is unwilling to foot the entire bill? How does a kid go about securing their own loans?

This about this OP. Why would anyone lend money to a kid who has nothing without someone cosigning it?

There a number of ways to pay for college - military, CC, parents pay, merit aid, parents cosign. If you are not willing to accept any of these choices, your kid is screwed.

Yeah pretty much. Although it IS still possible to pay for college with the $27k loans (low interest), a job during the summer and school year, maybe going to community college, graduating 1 to 3 semesters early, and a few other ways.