<p>The only way a student can amass more than $30,000 in student debt for an undergraduate degree is if there is a parent/benefactor somewhere co-signing loans. In which case, it's not really the student who is $30,000-plus in debt, but the co-signer, right?</p>
<p>That is not the only way. If the parent cannot qualify for PLUS loans, the student is eligible for additional unsubsidized Stafford funds. Also, some students take out Perkins loans in addition to Stafford loans.</p>
<p>Then you could borrow a lot more Stafford loan during grad school, up to $20500 a year.</p>
<p>Some colleges themselves also offer loans with the students signing.</p>
<p>^^^ Really??? I did not know that. That’s very scary.</p>
<p>Moreover, the interest will keep on accruing on unsubsidized part and subsidized part after you are no longer a full time student. It could be 6-7 years down the road or more before you start paying off the loan if you go to grad school, so the interest alone can easily be over $30k over the life of the loan if you keep on taking out all that you can.</p>
<p>My parents will be released as cosigners after 2 years of on-time payments on my private loan, per the bank’s policy. They did cosign, and if I decided to blow off my bills then I guess it would be their debt, but it is mine first and foremost. </p>
<p>I have well over 20k in only federal loans after TWO years, and I don’t remember if I even qualified for a significant subsidized loan the first year. The interest accruing makes a difference.</p>
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<p>Wrong. </p>
<p>reeinaz is correct as this can very easily happen to low income students/ or families stretched to their financial limits without parents having to co sign.</p>
<p>The student can borrow the following through the stafford loan program:</p>
<p>Freshman 5500 3500 (subsidized) 2000 (unsubsidized)</p>
<p>Sophomore 6500 4500 (subsidized) 2000 (unsubsidized)</p>
<p>Junior senior year 7500 5500 (subsidized) 2000 (unsubsidized)</p>
<p>A student who has these loans will have amassed 27,000 in loans</p>
<p>If the parent is turned down for a PLUS loan, the student can borrow an additional 4000/year as an unsubsidized stafford loan 16000</p>
<p>Now this same student is up to $43,000 in subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans.</p>
<p>Students may also have Perkins loans as part of their package. Lets say this same student gets a 2000/year Perkins loan as part of their financial aid package. With all of the other stuff their student loan debt is now up to $51,000 all in the student name with out the parent co-signing for a penny.</p>
<p>sybbie . . . thanks for the clarification. For better or worse, my kids aren’t in the low income category, so they still would only qualify for the minimum and anything above that would have to be co-signed by someone else.</p>
<p>But I always wonder when I hear stories of students in $100,000 in debt, how much of that is their debt and how much co-signed by someone else.</p>
<p>A co-signer is not the person a loan is being made to or the person obligated to repay the loan.</p>
<p>A co-signer is simply a guarantee to the lender that a loan will be repaid by a borrower with little or poor credit history.</p>
<p>If some day my son decides to purchase a car and has little credit history built at that time, a co-signer will still be required, but the debt will still be his to repay.</p>
<p>Private student loans would most likely require a co-signer, but the loan is still being made to the student with the anticipation that the student will repay the debt.</p>
<p>Someone with some legal background answer this - if there is a co-signer on a loan and the borrow defaults on the loan and the co-signer winds up repaying, I’m assuming that the co-signer could then sue the borrower for that money? Now if it’s your child you ‘may’ not want to resort to that, but it is essential that they learn that they are legally responsible to repay any amounts loaned to them.</p>
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<p>Other than the $4000 unsub loan that your child would be eligible for if you were not eligible for a PLUS loan, the sub/unsub stafford loans in the student’s along with the perkins loan can very easily be a part of your financial aid package. </p>
<p>This can and does happen every easily and often at a school(s) that does not meet 100% demonstrated need with large amounts of grant/scholarship aid.</p>
<p>Your child could very easily walk a way with a minimum of 27k in loans or up to over 40k in loans depending if the school has Perkins loans funds available and can offer them to your child.</p>