<p>Hello CCers! I'm not sure if this is appropriate for the financial aid and scholarship tread so I'll apologize in advance. I'm attending Syracuse University this coming fall and am considering borrowing private student loans. But is the amount I can borrow based on the estimated cost of attendance?? If it is, it doesn't makes sense because I'm going to study architecture and the COA will be different. So how do I decide how much I can borrow?? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>You can’t borrow any private loans without a co-signer. How much money will you need, and have you found a co-signer who is willing to take on that amount of debt if you fail to pay back your loans?</p>
<p>How much do you plan on borrowing?</p>
<p>Is the program for 5 years? How much total will you be borrowing?</p>
<p>thanks for the replies! yes, i have a cosigner. but im not sure how much im borrowing. thats why im wondering how much i can borrow since the loans are based on the cost of attendance, right? but the estimated COA my school sent me is not accurate so how will know how much i need to borrow?</p>
<p>The school has official COA numbers and they are what are used to establish educational loan limits. Talk to them, if you feel they are not accurate. But be aware they are not individually tailored and may not reflect your individual expenses. For instance, if you are living off campus and have an apartment that costs you $2000 a month, that is not going to be taken into account. If the COA uses an average figure of $500 a month, that is what the official figure is going to include, not your actual costs. If you can “beat” COA by going under those averages, you can pocket grant money based on that limit and return (or keep) loan money that is unused. If you are over, then that is tough luck. You have to downsize or come up with the remainder yourself.</p>