The debate over student loan debt often neglects a significant group: parents. About 1 in every 3 dollars the federal government lent for undergraduate education last year were in a parent’s name. In total, federal parent loan debt is over $103 billion across more than 3.6 million borrowers, according to the office of Federal Student Aid. But parents who want to help their children pay for college often fail to do the math. The Department of Education suggests 9% of parent PLUS loan borrowers default within two years of their child leaving school.
