To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Students Are Adults When They Are 18 Years of Age
In recognition of the right of all to receive the best possible education the United States of America can provide we ask that the Department of Education change the "Parent Plus" loan program to the "Student Plus" loan program. Allow any student between the ages of 18 and 24 to borrow the funds necessary to bridge the gap between grants, scholarships and the total cost of their undergraduate education without a co-signer from the Department of Education and its contracted loaners.
Why is this important?
The Federal Department of Education requires students up to the age of 24 (unless they are married or veterans) to involve thier parents in the financing of their higher education. It is nearly impossible to get declared "independent" and the student has to either get a co-signer for a student loan or their parent has to take out a "Parent Plus" loan. Many of us are unable to do this for our children as we are the generation who waited to have them until we were in our late 30s and are therefore saving as much as possible for our upcoming retirements. Personally I have had to tell my children no to either a Parent Plus loan or co-signing a loan due to the impact these would have on my credit worthiness. This has made it nearly impossible for them to attend college. This must be stopped! We are not responsible for our children after they become adults at 18. They can vote, own property, join the military etc. Therefore they should be responsible enough to pay for thier own educations. Please sign this petition to lower this arbitrary age limit to 18 and ask the Dept of Education to change these loand to "Undergraduate Plus" loans, taken out by the student, not their parents.