<p>Federal student loans are capped at reasonable limts - $5500 - $7500. Many students use them to cover funding gaps and many parents feel that their kids should have some “skin in the game”. The normal payback period is 10 years and it generally results in a payment of a few hundred a month…not exactly an albatross for most people.</p>
<p>Living off campus may or may not be cheaper…it will definitely make it harder to meet people freshman year and if you’re not accustomed to grocery shopping and cooking for yourself then you may end up eating on campus a lot anyway. You will still have rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, books, personal/misc expenses (like entertainment, hair cuts, etc.) to budget for. Would you need a vehicle in order to live off campus?</p>