Help with a Parent Plus Student Loan - The Bills.com Blog

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Help with a Parent Plus Student Loan

Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007

Question: Is there a way the student can get the full loan with out the parents consent or parent being responsible.

Answer: Most federally insured student loans, such as Perkins and Stafford loans, do not require a parent’s consent for a student to obtain a loan, nor are the student’s parents responsible for the loan, unless the student was younger than 18 years old at the time the loan was obtained. While most students are required to provide information about their parents’ income and other financial information to determine eligibility for federally insured student loans, as long as the student is 18 or older, the parents are usually not liable for the loan if the student is unable to repay the debt.

One type of federally insured loan, called a PLUS loan (frequently called a "Parent Plus Loan"), is designed to be borrowed by parents to supplement the money provided by the loans given directly to the student. If you find that your child needs more money to pay for his or her education than he can obtain by himself, a PLUS loan
is a good option to help you finance your child’s education.

If Stafford, Perkins, and PLUS loans, all of which are federally insured, are not enough to pay for your child’s education, you may want to consider private student loans. Private student loans, which provide additional money to help pay for school, tend to charge more than their federally insured counterparts, and may require a parent to sign the loan as a cosigner along with the student to make it easier for the lender to collect in case of default. Whether or not a parent will need to cosign for a student to obtain a private student loan will depend primarily on the lender
and its lending policies. If you feel uncomfortable cosigning a private student loan with your child, you should discuss your concern with the lender, but keep in mind that your child may not be able to obtain a loan without your assistance, especially if your child is young and has not established his own credit history.

To learn more about student loans, I encourage your to visit the Bills.com Student Loans Information page at http://www.bills.com/student-loans/

I wish you and your child the best of luck in obtaining the student loans you need, and hope that the information I have provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.

Best,
Bill
www.bills.com

Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!

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Bill has answered all sorts of questions and has been able to provide those in need of financial guidance with helpful and valuable advice and information on their specific financial area of interest. If you need specific guidance on any of the above mentioned financial areas, feel free to Ask Bill your financial questions and get better informed. Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!

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