As of 2019, all private undergraduate students loans require a co-signer. This makes it very difficult for students to get loans for college and was almost the thing keeping me from starting college in the first place. My parents said that they will not co-sign my student loans because they don’t want to be responsible for what I don’t pay. Fair enough, but that’s not how it works anymore, so my mother reluctantly agreed to co-sign my student loans to send me to college. This unfortunately gave my mother leverage to make me do whatever she wants.

I have a legal right to chose who I disclose any academic information too (grades, Classes, reports, etc.), but my parents have tried to blackmail me multiple times using their status as a co-signer to try to get me to tell them. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard “I’m pulling my name from your loans if you don’t do this”, I would have enough money to attend my current college WITHOUT SCHOLARSHIPS! (I go to a private liberal arts college that costs more than $55k a year before scholarships). She has blackmailed me multiple times for many reasons. Like “why can’t you tell me your grades?”, “why are you short on tuition?” And many more things and she keeps telling me that if I don’t tell her that she will pull her name from all of my loans.

She also keeps saying that just because her name is on my student loans, she is paying for my education. Unfortunately that’s not how co-signing works, she only pays when I can’t. But she puts it like she expects me to fail and that she will be responsible. This has ruined my self esteem and many of my classmates have noticed.

She has also accused me of going to therapy just to vent about her but the truth is, i don’t! I just want to say mom, if you see this, I love you but this is why I can’t wait to move out in May!