It's not just obtaining the loans but the terms. I know someone who's immediate family doesn't have great credit and/or great jobs. They became a software engineer but had something like an 8.5% interest rate. He worked out of San Diego and hopped on a job in Atlanta because the salary and cost of living was better for paying off the high interest loan.

I was denied student loans unless my parents cosigned.

Even federal student loans? I thought most of them don't require a cosigner

IIRC most require a complimentary loan application from parents for PLUS loans... or something like that, at least it used to be so.

It's not a question of obtaining any loan. It's a question of obtaining enough loans.

And at a proper rate. Having a credit cosigner to get you that 4% loan can mean the difference between spending a lifetime paying interest, and paying down your principal in 10 years.