<p>A friend of mine is getting a pell grant that covers 100% of the local community college. Can he use student loans for his living costs? He is 30 and I think he can borrow about $9500. If the answer is yes how many years could he do this?</p>
<p>It is possible yes, and I have seen folks do so. It depends on the school and how they define and monitor the Cost of Attendance (COA) figures.</p>
<p>The official COA is reported to the federal government. Commuters, Boarders and those living off campus but not with parents so are non commuters, are categories that have separate COAs. You can only get student loans, financial aid, etc up to COA, with PELL excepted in terms of federal funds, but rarely in college aid funds. What that means is that you and your parents can get financial aid and school loans up to COA. So someone can get the full PELL if s/he so qualifies, about $5K and then borrow up to $9500 in Staffords if independent or parent is declined for PLUS, and even borrow privately with a vetted cosigner. The ceiling would be the COA of the school, with exception to PELL.</p>
<p>The other issue here is the way COA is defined. Your friend is independent so there is no assumption that he will be living with his parent. Had he been 18 and fresh out of high school, I don’t know if a community college will include living expenses such as rent and food beyond what they consider the standard average commuter’s cost in the COA. So the likelihood of moving out of your parent’s home into a student dig, funded by loans when their home address is within a defined commutable distance could be slim. </p>
<p>This is not to say it is not done in some quarters. There is a lot of gray area in these situations. Some schools will stay a standard line for freshman year, where they will assume boarding at the school or commuting from parents, in terms of COA, but once the student is an upperclassman, may ease up on the definition.</p>
<p>However, living with parents, or other family means a nice $5-10K in money one does not have to spend, in most cases. Especially if these folks are helping you get through college. Borrowing this is putting a monkey on your back, because you need to repay the money. It’s great that your friend can borrow about $10K and more a year to get through 4 years of college, but understand he is going to be owing more than $50K with interest, probably closer to $60K and those unsub interest rates are no bargains. He may end up joining the many who cannot begin to pay those amounts when they come due. For some, there are no better alternatives, but… not a good idea.</p>
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I think his Federal loans limits are $23000 / $34500 / $57500</p>
<p>See [FinAid</a> | Loans | Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml)</p>
<p>[Subsidized</a> and Unsubsidized Loans | Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow]Subsidized”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow) </p>
<p>I do not recommend using finaid.org for anything. They may have some correct information, but other stuff is woefully out of date. Better to use websites ending in .gov</p>
<p>I’ve known people who have done that. But be aware that schools might not release the funds when they are needed by the student to pay that 1st rent payment and other expenses. I know my local community college is notorious for not refunding money until after the drop/add period.</p>