BLOG: Should Debt Outlive a Student?

Just had a Dana Hills single parent call me. Daughter is desperate to go to an out-of-state public university.

I don't want to name the college...as hundreds of parents will think I am talking about them...but let's just say that the college name could be CU-Boulder, U of Oregon, Oregon State, U of Washington, U of Arizona, Arizona State, or UT-Austin. Oh, U Michigan, U North Carolina-Chapel Hill, or U Wisconsin-Madison. 

Like so many people in the CUSD, their credit is shot due to using it to live when life takes a rough turn. As a result, the parent cannot take out a Parent PLUS loan So instead of making due, and being thankful that she will not be borrowing money that she has no foreseeable hope of paying back, she now calls me asking about finding a co-signer for a private loan.

Many parents don't realize that private loans that are student loans have all the risk of a student loan (meaning no bankruptcy forgiveness) but if the student dies, the co-signer is still liable. 

For free seminars, WEBinars, and useful tools to help guide the college planning process, please go to www.GetCollegeFunding.org, and sign up for our "7 Mistakes Most Parents Make When Planning For College."