Do I need a good credit history or a co-signer to take out federal student loans?

I got my identity stolen before college and even with "my" 50,000 dollars worth of unpaid debt I was able to get Stafford and Perkins loans from the government with no cosigner. So don't worry about that. As for deferment, you can defer til after law school as long as you send in the proper paperwork. If you take more than 6-9 months off from school between college and law school you will have to pay during that time off, but once you start school again you can defer. Hope that helps!