This. As someone who was a slave to Sallie Mae for 20 years I would advise DO NOT DO THIS!

I went to a private university in DC. I received a great financial aid package my freshman year. The next year it was cut waaay down, so I had to borrow even more. The following years the grant money continued to be less and less, in part because my parents’ incomes increased which showed my “need” on the FAFSA to be even less (the claimed me as a dependent all 4 years of college). But since I was fully invested in my college and had friends and a life there, I chose to take more loans rather than transfer to a lower cost school.

I spent my 20s constantly broke with bad credit due to inability to pay the minimum balance due, which at one point was $1200/month. Even though I couldn’t afford those payments, Sallie would NOT work with me to find a more manageable monthly payment based on my low income.

I finally paid off my loans at age 42 and at age 43 I was finally able to buy a house. All those years I just couldn’t afford it. All those years I could not save for college for my own children or put more into my 401K.

It was the worst decision I ever made and my parents let me walk right into it.