What are her other choices? Are there summer programs at American or DC schools that your student can attend to supplement a less expensive option? How comfortable are you in taking out these loans? How much of a hit is it going to make to you? I don’t believe that saddling a kid with more than the DIrect loan limits of about $27K over the 4 years is a good idea. Hard enough to pay that off, especially if grad school a possibility. Without you cosigning or taking out loans yourself, there is not a lot more a student can get anyways. So the question comes down to how much damage will loans to make American possible do to you.