My experience with bankruptcy is slightly different, but perhaps explaining my situation will help you.
First of all, I'm in my senior year of UG, so I can only explain how bankruptcy affects UG financial aid and loans (I will soon find out how it affects me in law school). So, my mother declared bankruptcy about 4 years ago before I was enrolled at Penn. She was the only person in my life who, prior to the bankruptcy, would be willing or able to cosign a loan for me. After the bankruptcy, she was no longer allowed to cosign any private loans and at the time I did not have sufficient credit history to qualify for private loans without a cosigner. In addition to not qualifying for private loans through banks, I was unable to get Parent Plus loans (UG equivalent of Grad Plus loans?).
Because I was ineligible for Plus loans, I qualified for a higher amount in Stafford loans (almost double the eligibility of most undergrads) because I was treated as an independent. I also spoke with financial aid advisers at Penn and was able to qualify for Penn guaranteed loans which are generally for a low amount guaranteed to me by the institution without a cosigner (I'm not sure if there is an equivalent to this loan at all schools). I was also able to convert my work study grants to a loans (no cosigner needed). I also spent a lot of time bitching to financial aid advisors and writing letters explaining my situation, and this led to Penn increasing my grants so that they covered about 2/3 of my tuition.
I hope this helps you a little bit.
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