Deciding on a college - parents or students?

<p>flightlessbird,</p>

<p>You can’t borrow that kind of money without a co-signer. Unless you have a co-signer you are limited to the Stafford Loan maximums each year, which will come to a total of $27,000 for all four years. So, your “life changing” school that would leave you with a total of $90,000 in debt means that you need to convince someone to commit themselves to pay off $53,000 of debt for your education if you can’t pay it off yourself. Since your parents can’t afford that school in the first place, I take it that they can’t afford this level of debt. Which means that it isn’t likely at all that you are going to find anyone to co-sign.</p>

<p>Go to the affordable school. You can have “life changing” experiences elsewhere, and in many cases, for a lot less than what would leave you with that level of debt.</p>

<p>For more fun reading on the topic of student debt, visit [Project</a> on Student Debt: Home](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org%5DProject”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org) and click on the tab labeled “voices”. For ideas on just exactly what loan payments could look like for the amounts you are considering, see [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Loan Calculator](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Loan Payment Calculator - Finaid)</p>