How does a student loan work? Do I ever see actual money? And what can I spend it on?

The money goes to the school, which will cut you a check for the remainder. ie, you could take 6 credit hours, borrow the money, and pocket any that is left over. but of course you have to pay that money back eventually.

You must apply for a student loan by completing the application on line at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. The results will be sent to the school’s aid office which will determine your aid eligibility, including the type and amount of student loan. You will be required to accept the offer and complete a promissory note (you’ll get this from the school). The school will certify your eligibility and send the information to the lender. The lender disburses the loan funds to the school no earlier than 10 days before your term of enrollment starts. The school takes your loan funds (and any other aid you may be receiving) and applies the funds to your institutional charges (tuition and fees, room and board if living on campus, fines, etc.). If there is a credit balance after all institutional charges are paid then the school will issue you a refund check for the balance. This money can then be used for other educational expenses (books, living if off-campus, gas in the car to get to campus, etc.). It is not a long process as long as you complete the application correctly and follow-up in a timely manner to any requests for information. For example, once you complete the application the school could receive the results in as few as three days.

To be spent on tuition, books, and even in some cases living expenses. But it is subsistence living. Not a loan now I can go to town and have a ball spending money.

This should teach you to really watch your spending and use money only on things you have to have to survive.

This gets you an education, not a vacation.

Forget getting birthday gifts and Christmas gifts or even eating out. While in school you learn to love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Visit your parents for a decent meal every few days and remember this is for your future, when you have a good job you can party and celebrate. Not while your going to school. Most countries people can only dream of higher education. If this opportunity comes up don’t mess it up by getting pregnant or a drunk driving ticket. It happens one guy got thrown in jail for a drunk driving and it messed him up so bad he eventually had to quit college and is now wishing he would have taken that one chance and used it wisely. He has the rest of his life now to regret it.

college graduates just make more money during their life than those who don’t. Unless your Bill Gates or a movie star.

For most of us it is a launching pad to a future.

In the UK you can apply for two loans (maintainance, and tuition fees) usually tuitions fee loans are paid directly to the university, and the maintainance loan is paid to you. The paper work is very annoying though. You have to fill out like 15 pages of rubbish.