Private College Student Loan - Do private student loans only cover the school tuition, what about living expenses?

Do private student loans only cover the school tuition, what about living expenses?

I'm not talking about stafford loans because its a very small amount of money. Private loans only please. How would I qualify for them. Can I only take out for the amount of the school cost? Can I take out more than the school tuition to cover living expenses?

Public Comments

You can, but you need to take out Stafford loans FIRST and then (if you have a cosigner with awesome credit, a stable, long term employment history with an income high enough to pay off the loans when you can't) if you require more money you can try to get a private loan. You will not get a private student loan without a cosigner. Private student loan interest rates are more than double what Stafford loan rates are, not to mention they are variable rate loans (meaning the interest rates will go up over they years). You can not discharge private student loans if you were to become disabled or die... meaning your cosiger will get stuck paying on them no matter what. Who in the world would want to do that to someone? You might want to read this article however about the dangers of the sub-prime private student loan industry. http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/108846/the-555000-student-loan-burden?mod=edu-continuing_education If you live like a professional when you are a college student, you will live like a college student when you are a college graduate until you die as will the lady from this article. As an alternative, you should consider attending a school (and the living situation) you can really afford otherwise you or your cosigner will be paying on those loans until you are old and grey. Who wants to pay on an apartment or for living expenses from when you were 20 until you are 70 years old? Get a part time job and find about 3 roommates while you are in college. If it were easy, everyone would do it and no one would need it. Do yourself a favor and avoid private student loans like the Plague. They are EVIL!!!