<p>I'm currently a sophomore in college. Due to certain circumstances, my parents may not be covering my costs of living anymore. If this happens, I would have to start paying for everything (apartment rent, utilities, car payments, groceries) on my own. </p>
<p>I work in addition to going to school, but my job doesn't pay enough to cover all these costs or even a fraction of them. Cutting these things out isn't an option and living on campus isn't an option for the upcoming year, since they're already full. </p>
<p>So what are my options? Is there a type of loan that I could take out to cover these costs for the next couple years until I graduate? I know that student loans are readily available, but I've also heard that those get paid directly to the bursar, which wouldn't help me. How are students who aren't subsidized by their parents supposed to pay for living expenses?</p>
<p>You could take out a loan. Is there a cheaper apartment you can rent? Can you refinance the loan on your car? Can you use less gas and electricity to save money?</p>
<p>Unless the car is an absolute necessity…you need to consider selling the car. You should be looking for a very inexpensive place to live, perhaps sharing a room with someone else, or something of that sort.</p>
<p>Your Cost of Attendance at your school includes an allowance for living expenses. If you indicated on the FAFSA that you would be living at home with parents, you may get a larger COA budget - and POSSIBLY more aid - if you let your aid office know that you will be living away from home. If you already receive the maximum Stafford loan amount for your year in school (5500 fr/6500 soph/7500 jrsr), the only thing available to you will be a private loan - you can receive up to your COA in a combination of all aid — so getting a larger COA due to living away from home would allow you to borrow a larger private loan. Private loans often carry hefty interest rates, though, so do shop carefully & only borrow as much as you actually need.</p>
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<p>Any aid/loans paid to the school in excess of their billable costs are refunded to the student. You should check with the school on when refunds are given - it’s generally sometime after classes start so you likely need to have enough cash saved to pay the first month expenses.</p>