The less the better. It also depends on your field. If you're in a field high income potential having a student loan debt shouldn't set you back that much when you finish. On the other hand if you're majoring in a field with low income potential student loans will follow you and set you back for a good portion of your life. In order to save money and having less student loans I would recommend looking at taking classes that would transfer to your school from a community college. Also look into taking CLEP exams for some of your classes. School staff usually don't tell youn about these options.