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<p>How so? YOU (the student) are only eligible to take out the Stafford loan in your name only. Any other loan would have to have been cosigned by your parents (unless you got a Perkins loan too). If these are loans YOU took out (Stafford and Perkins), your parents did NOT “make you” take out these loans…you chose to do so.</p>
<p>My daughter applied to Seton Hall, so I am quite familiar with this school. She would have been a commuter at this school, so we looked into this and there are many, many commuters at SHU. You are not alone in that. Why not get to know other commuters? Is there a commuter lounge or a club for commuters? </p>
<p>Also, have you looked into joining any clubs on campus? This is a great way to get to know other students and make friends. Join a study group or create one for one of your classes. Just because you are a commuter does not mean that you can’t meet with other students on campus. You just need to set it up and see who can come. My daughter, a fellow commuter, does this all the time. </p>
<p>When you next meet with your counselor, may I suggest that you ask this person to help you learn to talk with your parents. It seems that this is where you are having difficulty. There are ways to have a difficult discussion and your counselor should be able to teach you techniques for doing this. </p>
<p>One last thing - kids that live on campus are NOT living independently. They are living on their parent’s dime (or are heavily in debt to college loans). There is nothing very independent living in a place where meals are prepared for you and you have few responsibilities.</p>