Since when have the Student loans company and the DHSS been linked..?

I am assuming that DHSS means Department of Human Services...and the benefits you are talking about are monthly check, foodstamps, etc. If this is the case...then this is what I think is going on:

First, are you going to college through a grant from DHSS? Or did you make the decision on your own or fall on hard times after beginning college?

I know that when I first started college we were on HEAP for our heating and electricity assistance. Neither of us were working, both full-time college students, and we budgeted our loan money and grants to cover college expenses, rent, utilities and food. Neither one of our academic schedules were easy to work with for an employer so it was hard to find work. Anyhow, HEAP never used to consider our loans as income....we wanted them to though. With zero income we had to go to the HEAP office every month for verification. Finally, they used our loans as income and got us on the PIP program through our utilities.

I would talk to your caseworker about this. Be prepared to show how much of the loan money is being used for tuition and books and how much will be left over for you to use for other things. Take the left over money and divide it by the number of months that it has to last you and show this to your caseworker. I wouldn't think that student loans could be used to lower your benefits, but obviously they have caught on that many students are doing this.

I am $46,000 in debt with student loans.....I always took out the maximum amount that I could every semester to make ends meet and now I am a creek with no way to pay it back right now. Just be cautious how much you take out. Your payments after college could range from $200 to $500 per month just to pay it off. May not seem like much now, but when you are paying rent, car payment, insurance, etc....it adds up.