So I came across this sentence when reading "Kokoro" by Natsume Souseki:

「友達は中国のある資産家の息子で金に不自由のない男であったけれども、学校が学校なのと年が年なので、生活の程度は私とそう変りもしなかった。」

The translation says:

"My friend was from a wealthy family in the Central Provinces, and had no financial worries. But being a young student, his standard of living was much the same as my own."

which shows that "A が A" means something along the lines of "regarding A". Am I wrong?

I wonder if there are any rules or restrictions in using this pattern, as well as any possible indications and nuances.

Any help is much appreciated. Thank your in advance!

The full book: http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000148/files/773_14560.html

(I'm not native English speaker and this is my first question here(!) so, I'm sorry if there're any mistakes or confusion in my question.)