If you're a student, you should generally limit your debt so that your loan payments after you graduate don't eat up more than 10% of your expected monthly income. Figure you'll pay $12 per month for every $1,000 of federal student loans you borrow if you repay the loan over 10 years. If you take on private student loan debt, figure you'll pay $16 per month for every $1,000, although you could well pay more.
If the math makes your head hurt, you can just use the rule of thumb that you shouldn't borrow more in total for your education than you expect to make your first year out of school. The rule doesn't work for all careers; lawyers, for example, may scrape away at a low-paying government job for a few years before departing for the big bucks in the private sector. But the rule should prevent most students from overdosing on debt.
If you're a parent, try to keep all your loan payments -- for mortgages, cars, credit cards and education -- to 35% or less of your gross monthly income. If you try to borrow more than 40% under some private loan programs, your application will be turned down.
Whether you're a parent or a student, though, you obviously should exhaust your federal loan options before applying for private loans.
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