<p>I qualified for the parent PLUS loan at the university I'll be attending this fall, but my parents refuse to sign/cosign anything in regards to student loans. I was just wondering if there are other loans that i can get (being a minor with no credit) that I don't need my parents to sign for. At this point I'll need between 5,000-10,000 in loans to cover the cost of attendance and if i don't find a solution to this, I won't be able to attend.</p>
<p>My strong advice is that you immediately contact your college’s financial aid office about this.</p>
<p>“I qualified for the parent PLUS loan at the university I’ll be attending this fall, but my parents refuse to sign/cosign anything in regards to student loans. I was just wondering if there are other loans that i can get (being a minor with no credit) that I don’t need my parents to sign for. At this point I’ll need between 5,000-10,000 in loans to cover the cost of attendance and if i don’t find a solution to this, I won’t be able to attend.”</p>
<p>First of all…YOU didn’t qualify for a Parent Plus loan. That is an optional loan for parents who will take out those loans. Many, many (maybe most) parents refuse to take out Plus loans because they can’t afford them. </p>
<p>I doubt contacting your school will make a difference. No parent WANTs to take out a Plus loan, and if just refusing meant that the school would give more aid then everyone would do that.</p>
<p>Did you have any other affordable options?</p>
<p>How much is this school? </p>
<p>HOw much is your EFC?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>How much is the Plus loan?</p>
<p>No, there aren’t any other sources for additional loans for students without co-signers.</p>
<p>What loans are in your FA pkg? If you have 5500-7k, then that’s the max you should have.</p>
<p>Epicpancake, Mom2college is right. YOU did not qualify, nor did your parents qualify for a PLUS loan. That is an option that most all parents have to borrow money for college. They would have to apply, get a credit check and either qualify or denied just as they would for any loan.</p>
<p>I have a pet peeve about colleges that present the PLUS loans this way for this very misunderstanding that you have. The credit check and loan will go on you parent’s credit report whether they are denied or accepted. The interest rate of the loans are 7%+, not insignificant. </p>
<p>YOU can take a Stafford loan as a freshman for up to $5500. If that is already in your package, you are pretty much all loaned out. If your parents are denied a PLUS loan, you can get another $4k in Staffords but that is it without a co signer which is, in effect, the same as taking out the loan in terms of credit record reporting.</p>
<p>If you can’t work out the financing, then you need to look for an affordable alternative.</p>
<p>I also don’t like Plus loans put in pkgs for the same reason that Cpt states. But I also don’t like them in pkgs because students think that their parents are being mean if they won’t “cooperate” and take them. In cases like the OP, the parents are being seen as not “helping” the kid. It’s not that simple.</p>
<p>The parents may not have great credit, they may not be able to afford to pay them back, they may not feel that the child’s college major is worth the loans, there may be other kids to put thru college, and that there are less expensive alternatives…there could be all kinds of reasons that the parents can’t/won’t take out Plus loans. </p>
<p>There should be some other way to communicate that the option exists, but no parent should feel obligated to take out these loans.</p>