Hello. I co-sigend a student loan for a friend about 5 years ago. I am now 26 and trying to get into medical school. I just found out that my friend is behind on payments and Sallie Mae is going to send it to the Credit Bureau. I have a very good credit rating despite the fact that I do not have a fulltime job. (I am, however, a fulltime student and will be for many more years). I have tried to plead with her parents to refinance the loan with my friend so they can become her new co-signers, however, they refuse. What actions can I take to get my name off of this loan? As I look back at 21, I was very naive, although I made a very uneduacated decision in signing her loan papers, I was, and still am, an adult. This is the argument I get from my friend and her parents; meaning I must suffer the consequences of my decision. I feel that Sallie Mae may have illegally allowed me to co-sign her loan in the first place, but I may be wrong. At the time I was a full time student with no real job, I did have work study which barely paid me $200 a month. Knowing this, they allowed me to become liable for a loan in excess of almost $20,000. I am concerned for my future becuase what if I must take out loans for school in the private sector and am denied becaue I have reached my credit capacity or because my credit rating is shot. I do have debts on my own, which I am taking full responsiblity for and paying the payments on time. However, if I cannot get funding or if my credit rating is shot, my life is ruined. I have no way of supporting myself right now outside of studying hard and making it into medical school, which I will work just as hard to finish. I make money here and there, but nothing steay. After this cross road in my life of completing my educational pursuits I will be secure and can handle situations like this, but until then what can I do to protect myself and fix this situation I am in? How can I legally get off of the loan? Thank you for your time.

I'm moving this to the student loan forum where you'll likely get a better response.

Unfortunately, Sallie Mae did nothing illegal. You had the credit rating to support being a cosigner.

On the Sallie Mae website, there is a statement...Cosigner release
If a creditworthy borrower makes the first 24 consecutive on-time payments of principal and interest as initially scheduled, he or she can apply to have the cosigner release.

Key words are "creditworthy" and "first" 24 consecutive. As far as I know, this is the only way a cosigner can be released.


From Sallie Mae's website. http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/...igning_loan.htm

Cosigner rights and responsibilities
A cosigner is guaranteeing the debt. That means you (or your parents or spouse, if they are the cosigners) will have to repay the loan if the borrower does not. It’s critical that you understand and want to accept this responsibility and that you are aware of the following:

Be sure you can afford to repay the loan. If you’re asked to pay and you cannot, you may be subject to collections efforts and your credit rating could be damaged.
Even if you’re not asked to repay the debt, your liability for it may be included in computing your debt-to-income ratio and may prevent you from getting approval for other loans.
Under federal law, creditors are required to give you a notice that explains your obligations as a cosigner. In addition, make sure you get copies of all important papers, such as the loan contract and the Truth-in-Lending Disclosure Statement.

Sallie Mae performed legal actions allowing you to co-sign the note. At 21 you were well past the age of majority to sign a loan. A common myth concerning credit scoring involves your income, as you stated, very low. Income has NOTHING to do with your credit score! So as long as you maintained a good payment history, your credit score would have been fine for the purposes of co-signing the loan. Your friend needs to initiate the process of co-signing the loan, as Sallie Mae has a procedure for this; however, with the recent lates they may or may not feel obliged as it depends on their procedures. On a side note, obtaining a student loan for you has nothing to do with your credit score; you will be able to obtain a guaranteed student loan despite your friend's habits.