>>The interest that a student gets on his/her loan is regulated; as you correctly assumed. Which does not preclude the parent from getting a personal load (like home equity) and paying for the child education. Almost all financial advisers warn against such practice. They say that the parent(s) should not do it.
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>Practically speaking, except for the possibly higher net cost after interest, closing costs and tax effect, there is no difference between taking money out of accounts that might be destined for retirement use, and taking out a mortgage.
>A house is an asset, like money in a retirement account or a checking account.
>In each case the parent is using assets that might be needed to fund their retirement to fund a child's education.
>The parents of my generation did that and got their money back ten-fold, because our generation made a lot more money that our parents - who lived during the great depression.
>The problem today is that that scenario seems to have reversed and it's possible that the kids could in fact make less than their parents, so good alternatives seem scarce.

Some say that children today are more self-centered and selfish. But then I remember when I was their age I was selfish and self-centered. We just forget :)