Have you looked to a bank or p2p lender? The purpose of the student loan system to help extend credit to people who are otherwise less creditworthy. It's not a

Have you looked to a bank or p2p lender? The purpose of the student loan system to help extend credit to people who are otherwise less creditworthy. It's not a perfect system but it sorta works. In your case, you said you maxed out your credit cards. Presumably you managed your credit effectively aside from that, and then paid it off. If so, your Fico score should be high enough to qualify for a loan outside the federal student loan guarantee program.