<p>I am just curious if anyone has done this. </p>
<p>Why do you want to decline it? Are your parents in a position to pay out of pocket for all of your expenses? Are they expecting you to take the loan so as to contribute to your own education?</p>
<p>Can you afford to pay without the loan and perhaps without further parental support? I would be all over my kids if they didn’t keep me in the loop regarding college financing matters. It’s a cooperative process in our house. Why wouldn’t you tell them?</p>
<p>You don’t get the loan without going through couseling and signing the MPN (promissory note). If it’s a Perkins loan, I suggest you take it and stash it because it’s interest free while you are in school and you won’t likely be able to change your mind later in the year if you let it go. You could also jeopardize future Perkins offers. You don’t want to do that. For Stafford’s you can wait to get the money till the end of the year, and if you don’t need it this year, it’ll be that much more you have in case you need it for a 5th year, which happens. No loss there. </p>
<p>But as Annoyingdad says, if your parents are at all involved in this you should keep them in the loop. I’d be upset too if my kids didn’t let me know what was going on, given how much we are putting into the college costs. My son took a Student loan towards the end of the year, let me know about it and we discussed it. It should be a joint endeavor. </p>
<p>I declined most loans I was offered back decades ago and was able to squeak along fairly comfortably on merit and FAid other than loans. Unless there is a problem communicating with your folks, I’d discuss the matter with them, especially if the loan being offered is a subsidized loan and might replace some other loans your folks are assuming.</p>