SIL told me on Sunday (after several Super Bowl drinks) that they have co-signed over $50,000 in loans for Kid #1 (who has also taken her own federal student loans) – and that’s just for years 1-3 at in-state flagship. She said she wished her D had commuted for 2 years and then transferred, but they couldn’t make her do that since she’d liked Penn State so much better than the directional. BIL’s take was that it’s no big deal: Everyone takes out loans, parent co-signing is just a formality, their D will be able to pay the loans off quickly, etc. (She is majoring in psychology so no indication of an especially high salary upon graduation).
I am not looking forward to how this will work out for their next three children…