If you only worked one month at the Census and she lost 1/2 of her benefits for a year, something is wrong. Either you misunderstood or SSI has the wrong information from her. It is also untrue that if you have any wages at all that it will be counted against her benefits. First SSI subtracts out an allocation for you, for any minor children that live with you, any court ordered child support you pay, applies the earned income exclusion and the unearned income exclusion. After those subtractions and divisions, whatever is remaining is considered deemed income to her and does reduce her SSI benefits. But generally, anyone who qualifies for $1 from SSI still gets the same Medicaid that someone who gets $674 in SSI. And, when a spouse is working, the SSI can be reduced, but with the earned income exclusion, the reduction is $1 for every $2 over the allocation and exempt amount so going to work will always mean more money for the household. Now if those wages become unemployment benefits, then the reduction is dollar for dollar.
Loans are excluded from income. But money from a loan that you deposit into a bank account or keep in cash at home can be considered a resource the first day of the month following the month the loans are received. The couple resource limit is $3000. So if you receive a check for $5000 in borrowed funds that you intend to use over 5 months to pay expenses, the first day of the month following the receipt, she will be over the $3000 resource limit and eligible for zero SSI until the funds are reduced to under $3000. And that applies even if the money is kept in home in cash to hide it from SSI.
I think it makes more sense for you to go to work and earn $700 (before taxes) a month. You don't increase your debt. You earn Social Security credits. You get a work history that you can reference when you go looking for work. But she needs to talk to someone at SSA to confirm the dollar amount I gave you and needs to make sure she reports this income every month.
But I am curious. If she can't be left alone while you go to school, how are you ever going to be able to go to work while in college or when you graduate? What is the point of going to college then and incurring debt that you can't pay back?

