Strictly speaking a financial aid package may include state grants (need based or merit based), Pell grants, scholarships, stafford loans, and perhaps Perkins. Parent PLUS loans shouldn’t be part of the FA package because they’re beyond what is considered a student’s package (since they imply parents). A long time ago, when college costs were on pace with inflation and public universities were well-funded, it was not considered normal to take on loans at all, except for a handful of students who’d go to a private colleges, and federal grants existed rather than federal loans. Our sense of “normal” has really changed, to the point many students think taking on loans is normal, as is being indebted until your 30s or more, and 27K is not much to be in debt for.
Witness this discussion:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1867453-app-state-vs-western-carolina.html
(The OP may both have no sense of money and no better option…)
@guavamonster :
how much in debt are we talking about?
What’s your parents’ budget out of pocket (from savings+ income)?