<p>In the original post I assume that the parents are borrowing $25k per year and the student is borrowing $5k per year. If the parents can afford the loan payments and are willing to make those payments for the next 10 years, does that change anyone’s opinion?</p>
<p>I think the concern is this…The parents probably cannot continue borrowing each year…especially when the younger child starts college in the near future. Many parents get themselves into this “fix”. They take out the first year’s loan, they take out the second year’s loan, and then they don’t qualify anymore.</p>
<p>Remember, the OP says that the family can’t pay anything out of pocket. If that is the case, that strongly suggests that they can’t continue qualifying year after year.</p>
<p>Also…I don’t know if the parents are taking out the big Plus loans. They may be co-signing big loans that the poor kids will be stuck with.</p>
<p>*however is there a rule of thumb about how much the parents should borrow to put their kids through college? *</p>
<p>Well, it can differ because each family’s situation is different…number of kids to put thru school, income, current debt level, age of parents, etc. I can’t imagine that it’s a good idea for parents to borrow a total amount more than what would give them a payment of larger than a car payment, unless they don’t have rent/house payment also to pay. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>