<p>who initially receives the lump of money in a student loan? the college or the student or the student’s parents?</p>
<p>A student loan goes to the student. It initially goes to the school, though. It is first used to pay off any money the student owes to the school (tuition, fees, room & board charges). If there is any money left over, it is given to the student. Some schools will refund the money right away, while others have varying refund policies.</p>
<p>If the parents take out a parent PLUS loan, the money is used to cover what the student owes, then the refund is sent by the school to the parents unless they indicated that they wanted any refund to be paid to the student.</p>