My son is a junior, and he got a good scholarship to a small liberal arts school out of state.
I’m well, rather poor, with two more kids about to enter college behind him, and another young adult child who opted to go into the trades.
His first couple years of expenses were completely covered through a combination of scholarships, fed grants, and regular federal student loans, plus a modest amount of 529 savings.
The 529 is now exhausted, and my son is now at the end of his junior year. He reached out to ask if I’d consider a parent plus loan for 10k to finish out his senior year. I initially said yes, because I thought this just meant me becoming a co-signer.
I didn’t realize it meant me taking out loans of my own.
I’m now reluctant to do it, since I have 2 more of his brothers to figure out. I filled in a gap for $900 cash last semester, but I can’t afford a lot more than that. He has three siblings that I at least try to treat equally, so whatever I do for him, I want to feel ready to do for the siblings.
(and frankly I’m not actually sure I’d qualify. My income is quite low, considering the number of dependents I have)
Any advice? I do very much want him to finish up, but I can’t afford to spent 6k a year on tuition for him AND all of his siblings. :/
much as I wish I could!
Posted by devilselbowart
4 Comments
You are correct that a parent plus loan has the parent as the borrower. A parent plus loan doesn’t require a good credit score, just an absense of an adverse credit history. If you apply for a parent plus loan and are rejected your son can borrow up to an additional $4k per school year in federal student loans.
To carry the weight with him as a cosigner, he would have to move to private loans. This would, however, rely on your credit and you might not get approved. There’s also a cap for how much you as a parent can take out among all your students. If you can’t afford to pay it back…I wouldn’t borrow it. I’m assuming this was discussed before he started college, how much savings you had and what the cost would be. What was the outcome of those discussions?
Parent Plus loans do not check your credit score, it only checks for adverse credit. They list what is considered adverse credit on the webpage: [Apply for a Direct PLUS Loan as a Parent | Federal Student Aid](https://studentaid.gov/plus-app/parent/landing).
If you DO have adverse credit, you will be denied. If you are denied, the student then becomes eligible for up to $5,000 more in their own loans. So if you have adverse credit, it might make sense to apply knowing that you will be denied so that your son can get more of his loan unsubsidized loans.
If you know you won’t be able to pay it back, don’t borrow it. However, If you have poor credit, you might not be able to cosign for a private loan for your son. If he does go for a private loan, I would look into loans listed on this site: [https://www.efc.org/in-school-loans/](https://www.efc.org/in-school-loans/)
Can your son earn more over the summer? Get another job during the school year?
Have you / your son asked for more money from the school… especially if there has been a recent change in financial circumstances? Colleges are evaluated by their graduation rates, so it can sometimes be in a school’s best interest to help students get over the finish line.