Be wise and careful!!!
It is true that you have to be careful with the papertrail you leave behind if you decide to go the route of buying a home. But, despite the criticism and negativity you may receive. I am going to say that You could either A) get someone else (like a parent/close relative/spouse) who has good credit to get home loan for you, and then you put down the down payment B) attempt to get the home loan yourself, but you would have to get a job (to show that you earned the money and can make payments on the home). It's not as difficult as folks are making it out to be. It just has to be well-thought, and you must be careful. I know a few people who have done this. The simple fact of the matter is that this is not illegal per se. That same money that you collect in refund checks would be used on transportation and rent, if you would not invest. There are no explicit restrictions on this, and you could make an argument (if ever found out) that the money did go to your living expenses, and what is the difference between buying a home v. renting one? If you bought the home, and put enough money down, and made enough payments that by the time you were out of school, your home loan is almost paid off, you will essentially gamed the system. You would not have to worry about going to go stay with parents if left undergrad broke, and unemployed because you would have your own home. If you suspect that you may not have job when you graduate (this is contigent upon your major, the job outlook/salary for grads in the area you intend to work, and your individual networking skills (i.e. jobs, internships, and connections made in undergrad), then you might want to go with option A. Those student loans are about entrepreneurship, many people fail to realize this, and squander away what could be a great investment opportunity because they believe its "dishonest" or illegal (which it is not, look it up (nowhere does it say you cannot do this)). If you were smart enough to use the money to start a business or buy house or invest, then you deserve to reap the benefits of your plan. I wish I had done it. To this date, I don't know of anyone who has ever been prosecuted for using the refund checks to LEGALLY invest. IJS. Good Luck to you.
