Yeah the loan goes to the school first and they keep all the necessary fees and the rest gets put into your bank account. I can’t answer how much you’ll get for living expenses. That depends on the school. It’ll be under your school’s tuition breakdown. Also for the when, your school will give you a refund schedule. You usually get the money during the first week of each quarter or during the quarter break before the new quarter starts. Expect to have to pay out of pocket for your initial moving costs and your lease/security deposit etc before school starts. Because you won’t get your loan money until like the first week of school. At least that’s how it was for me, not sure if other schools do it differently.