Don't Take College Loans Without Doing Homework.

You study 16 hours and whaddaya get? Another day older and deeper in debt.

OK, OK, that's not nearly as gripping a lyric as Tennessee Ernie Ford's classic coal-mining ballad whose chorus I've just knocked off.

But for college students and their families, the deep-in-debt part sounds just right. Every day that students stay in school, the more money they owe.

Now, you're being encouraged to borrow even more. Lenders are offering "alternative" or "private" loans, on top on your federal student loans.

A one-year, federal student loan is currently capped at $2,625 to $5,500 for undergraduates, depending on which year of school you're in. That's often not enough to fill the gap between the money you have and the cost of the school you want to attend.

Parents can borrow the rest of the money through the federal PLUS program (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students). But they have to start repaying PLUS loans right away.

Enter the private loan, to compete with PLUS. It's more expensive than PLUS, but payment can be deferred until the student leaves school.

Also, private loans generally are made to students rather than parents, which many parents like. The parents may have to co-sign, so they're responsible if their son or daughter can't pay. But the student carries the principal burden.

Private loans are made two ways: Directly through banks or other lenders; or indirectly, through college financial-aid offices. Some colleges simply hand out the bank's brochures, others market the loans under their own name. You can borrow the difference between what you got in financial aid and your college's total cost.

When schools enter into joint agreements with banks, they usually negotiate better terms for their students, says George Walter, director of financial assistance for Villanova University in Pennsylvania. The interest rate might be a little lower, or parents might not have to co-sign the loan.

How much you pay for a private loan depends on the terms. Up-front costs usually range from 3 percent to 8 percent, depending on who borrows (parent or student), whether there's a co-signer, how soon repayments start and the borrower's creditworthiness. The fees are deducted from the loan amount.

Variable interest rates range from 7.8 percent to 9.7 percent, again depending on circumstances. Students with co-signers pay less than students without.

Some private lenders charge little or nothing in fees, but recoup with a higher loan-interest rate. Citibank's standard loan, for example, currently costs zero upfront plus 9.25 percent on the borrowed money.

By contrast, parents using federal PLUS loans typically pay 4 percent upfront plus 7.72 percent interest on the money borrowed (the loan rate changes every July 1). PLUS loans are capped at 9 percent. Private loans can go higher, if interest rates rise.

A few state student-loan agencies offer private student or parent loans at lower rates - ask your school about it.

Here are some major commercial programs to check for private college loans, in addition to any that your school is tied up with: Bank-Boston at [phone]; Bank of America at [phone]; PNC Bank at [phone]; and Citibank at [phone].

At Citibank, the loan's co-signer is released of responsibility, if the student makes the first 24 payments on time, says Bill Beckman, head of the student-loan division.

Currently, four-year students leave school owing an average of around $13,000, says Scott Swail, associate director of policy at The College Board in Washington, D.C. Debt burdens are rising, not only because college costs keep going up but also because so many students voluntarily choose expensive schools.

"For most families, increased borrowing is the path of least resistance," says Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers in Washington, D.C.

The banks, by the way, do more than make private college loans. They also handle traditional, federal student loans. In that program, Congress sets the price - and guarantees the lenders a profit.

At this very moment, the lenders' congressional buddies (well-greased with campaign contributions) are planning to fatten the industry's profits by changing the way the government subsidizes student loans. Students won't pay more but the taxpayers will, Nassirian says.

Do the colleges, lenders and taxpayers care that students are drifting toward 16 tons of debt?

Parents and debt

How far should parents go today to pay for their children's college education? Some will bear any burden, sign any loan. Others won't.

Increasingly, children rather than parents are borrowing the money.

There's no easy way of threading your way through this financial and emotional swamp. But here are some things that college-aid counselors want you to think about:

* Don't let your child go to a school you can't afford. On paper, this sounds obvious. But it's not so obvious, when the child's eyes light on a school whose five-figure cost starts with a "3," or even a "2," and your income is in the middle range.

Faced with this, some parents want to load up with loans or dissolve their IRAs. "Don't," says Patricia Ennis, assistant director of student aid at Syracuse University in New York (total sticker price this year: $30,280).

"I tell them to look at the whole picture, over the next four years, and think about how those loans would impact the rest of the family," Ennis says.

* Don't take unnecessary loans. Low-income students might get through loan-free, by living at home and commuting to a state or community college. Their own earnings plus state and government grants might cover the cost in full.

Students who want to live away from home should apply to both state and private colleges and compare the offers. See which one requires you to borrow the least. The size of the loan should weigh heavily, when you decide which school to choose.

* Don't stand by, while your child over-borrows. "I'm surprised at the number of parents who don't have a problem with their son or daughter taking out as many loans as they can," says Kerrie Cooper, director of financial aid for the State University of New York, College of Technology, in Canton, N.Y.

Many parents are balking, Cooper says. Maybe they're close to retirement and don't want more loans. Maybe they can't handle more monthly payments. Maybe they think that college should be the child's responsibility.

Syndicated columnist Jane Bryant Quinn can be reached in care of the Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St., Washington D.C. 20071 -9200.