Can financial aid cover off-campus living and a few other questions?

<p>1) Can financial aid cover-off campus living. I receive federal, state, and university grants, a university and state scholarship, federal work study, and subsidized loans. I've heard some people say they use their financial aid for off-campus living and others saying they can't because it only qualifies towards on-campus housing. This is my second year living on-campus and I really want to move-in with one of my present day roommates since we get along living together but I don't know if it would financially savvy? </p>

<p>2) Over the summer my dad wants me to work in the state he lives in. I graduated in state A, and visit state B for vacations/breaks and what not but I'm not sure if this will affect my financial aid. (My mom lives in state A but isn't and was never willing to help me out with pretty much anything...even when I lived with her getting shampoo, toothpaste, and other things were a struggle but she would gladly spend thousands of dollars on her boyfriends. Anyway, I stayed in this state just because college would be much cheaper since all of my expenses were covered for the time being. I also have a good amount of friends which proves to be helpful which it comes to emotional support and moving in/out of my residence hall(I don't have a car)) I know if I make over $6,000 it can reduce the amount of financial aid but I think it would be good if I did get a summer job to increase the amount of work experience I have and also to do something productive with my summer. How will working out of state affect my financial aid? I also won't have to pay for housing or food which can save me so much money since I've been living at one university or another during the summer.</p>

<p>3) I would to double major and minor but am pretty sure I will go over 120 credits. I'm majoring in International Studies and want to double major in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Theatre. I'm not sure how many credits it will go up to but I don't think all the financial aid I receive will continue to finance my education after a certain amount of credits or years. If I graduate with my one major, I'll graduate in 3 years rather than the 4 but two of my scholarships go up to 4 years (no matter the credits). I currently have 94 credits in my second year of college (AP credits and two summer semesters). If I were to stop receiving grants and if I maxed out of loan money what are other ways to finance my education, when I also need somewhere to live, groceries, and probably a car, car insurance, and gas? I currently work part time with a federal work study job but I definitely don't get paid enough especially since my phone bill is $120-$160 a month. Also does anyone know of a good cell phone plan that offers unlimited texting/data for less than what I pay? I have an IPhone 4 and the bill is crazy...it's under my dad's plan and it's under a 2 year contract. My dad thought it was a good idea to get this phone for Christmas but it costs a hell of a lot and I never really wanted a smartphone...it's just more money out of my pocket.</p>

<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>

<p>You do have to run the scenario past your college financial aid office as some schools have their own rules about where students can live. As a general situation, financial aid can be used to live off campus. Some schools even have specific COAs (cost of attendance) for that situation with numbers different than living on campus. But yes, the schools I know do allow students to live off campus using fin aid funds. You are highly unlikely to get an advance on those awards, however, so you likely will have to come up with some money to fund the move, the supplies, the security deposits, the cost of getting utilites started, etc, etc. After all your aid goes into your Bursar account, what’s left will be available to you, but many schools don’t pay that out until after the Drop Date deadline. You still have to pay rent and other expenses as they aren’t going to wait for that check. </p>

<p>A lot of your questions have to do with how your college specifically treats these things and what sort of aid you have.</p>