My parents will not cosign my student loans. Can my 19 year old friend help me? He has good credit and he also works and attends college. I will be 17 when I enter college, but 18 In December. This may seem really messy, but I just don’t know what to do. I have tried many different avenues, and I just don’t know which will actually work.
Can my 19 y/o friend with good credit cosign on my student loans?
EDIT:
They will not cosign for my loans because they don’t want me to leave the state, not because of the price of the school. The college I want to attend is not ridiculously expensive, it is actually on the cheaper side.
I am asking for any way to get loans without parental consent. Is there any way besides having a cosigner to obtain school loans?
It depends on which kind of loan. You do not need your parents to sign your direct loans ($5500 limit). He cannot take a Parent Plus loan for you as only a parent or sometimes another relative can. A private lender may be willing to have the friend as a co-signer.
Using a friend as a co-signer is not a good plan. Picking a school you can afford is a better idea.
No, they can’t. If your own parents won’t take on extra loans for you, why would you think someone unrelated to you should?
Most students don’t get to attend the school of their choice – they’re limited by finances. The most you can borrow per year on your own is ~$5500. Can your parents pay anything for school?
Co-signing a loan means that the co-signer is responsible for paying off the loan if something bad happens to you. Would you want to do that to a friend?
They never wanted me to attend in the first place, so they aren’t planning on giving me anything. They also will not allow any other family member to cosign for me.
I have already spoken about this to him. My question was not whether he was willing to, it was if it was allowed.
You can take a gap year and work to earn money for the college. If it’s a state school, you can move there and try to establish residency. You can try to maximize any AP credits and maybe take some CLEP exams. However, you should not ask another teenager to co-sign loans for you.
First, it is a good way to kill a friendship. Why would your friend co-sign a loan for you?
Second, how “good” a credit history an 18yo may have?
Third, what if your friend change his/her mind later? How can you afford the school?
Anyone can co-sign for a loan for someone else assuming they meet the lending institution’s criteria. While your friend might have good credit and is working, I don’t know that anyone here can answer whether a lending institution will deem your friend credit-worthy enough to approve him as a co-signer. Credit score is not the only element they take into consideration, they also look at income, debt to income ratio, stability (time at current address, time at current job, etc.).
Thank you so much! I know it sounds quite dumb to use a teenager as a cosigner, but I need to have back up options. When I show my parents that I can do this without them, I hope they will change their minds about allowing me to attend college with their help. Again, thank you!!!
Even if you get approved this year for a loan, how will you be sure you will get approved for future years? You could easily end up owing a lot of money but not having enough to finish your degree.
Anyone can cosign. Is a 19-year-old part time worker likely to have the income required by the lending institution for an unsecured loan? I doubt it, but the only way to know for sure is to talk to a bank.
The bank will have to approve your friend as a qualified cosigner. This means he will need sufficient collateral (that would be income and/or assets) to guarantee to the bank that he can cover his own loving expenses AND can cover the cost of repaying your loan.
It is highly unlikely that a 19 year old college student has sufficient income to be a qualified cosigner.
Also, most cosongers for loans…to be qualified, need a significant employment history with sufficient self supporting income.
I seriously doubt your 19 year old, college student friend can fully support himself…AND have sufficient additional income to guarantee pay off of your loans should that become necessary.
You are not the first student to have these financial difficulties. College is costly, and some families do not support those costs or their student attending.
You should consider getting a full time job…and saving money. Perhaps,you can take some community courses one or two at a time. No, it’s not what you ideally wanted to do…but if it will move you in the direction of getting a degree, so be it.
You can also look for jobs where you might have the chance if some financial assistance for college. I think United Parcel Service offers some tuition assistance to employees. You could alsomget a job on a college campus doing something. In some cases, this will give you reduced or free tuition for college courses at that school.
Ok, so your parents won’t give you any money for this school because it is out of state. However, if you find some crazy way to pay for this year, they will suddenly see the error of their ways and pay for further study? I have some real doubts about this plan.
What’s the terrible problem with your in state option(s)?
If you really want to show your parents what you can do without them, get a full time job as @thumper1 suggests.
This better be some gem of a college that you’re willing to put your friend at risk financially for…
Oops…your bigger issue is YOU as a 17 year old won’t be able to take out these loans without a well qualified cosigner.
I think YOU need to rethink your plan. If your parents are willing to help you out if you go to college IN state…then do that.
Having good credit and being able to get a loan are two very different things.
A person with a mediocre credit score but plenty of assets, long credit history, and high income will be able to get a loan (just not at the best rates). A 19 year old with no assets and low income may have a high score because he pays his one credit card bill on time, but no bank is going to give him an unsecured loan.
It is not dumb for you, but it is really dumb for your friend. REALLY REALLY dumb. Don’t be selfish and put him in this spot. Go in state.
If, by some long shot, your friend qualified for this huuuge loan, when (make that IF) he applies for a loan the following year, his record will show this massive debt hanging and likely disqualify him. That could leave you with no money second year. And loan debt.
What in state colleges have accepted you? How much will your parents pay if you stay in state?
Go on line and figure out what the payments are for a $100k in student loan. You don’t want to be paying $1000/month for ten years and have to move back in with your parents because you can’t qualify for an apartment lease. Most students graduate with about $25k in debt. I have strived for my children to have no debt but to do that they are staying in state and they seem happy and grateful.
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