<p>My two cents: I always regarded the work study portion of the financial aid package as pocket or walking-around money for the student. Surely, no one expects them to assiduously apply the modest amounts of dough represented by the work study ‘award’, which they earn over time, to their college account. The school doesn’t, no school does, they all want the semester’s bill for tuition, room and board, etc., that is, what you get the financial aid for, including the work study ‘award’, paid before you can show up and register for school for that semester - they’re not waiting for anything the student may earn from work study. So, the family/parents actually pay this piece represented by the work study line on the finaid award letter, up front. It’s between you and your student whether the dough they earn from work study over time gets paid back to the parents. (Good luck with that.) But my sense is do accept the ‘award’; nor do I know if you decline at any given point whether you can get it back, either within that semester or in a subsequent finaid application the next year. You might want to ask FinAid if you’re inclined to decline.</p>
<p>It is taxable income to the student once earned I say again ONCE THEY EARN IT, not the mere receipt or acceptance of the ‘award’ but the actual work on the job and getting paid $ therefor (remember the tax (calendar) year includes the prior spring semester and the following fall semester, so two semesters, two work study periods, two different financial aid years FWIW), and they’ll get a W-2 from the school for it (for the whole year, ie, both semesters, prior spring and subsequent fall, i.e., freshman spring and sophomore fall, for instance), but usually the amount by itself at least is not enough to require filing either a federal or state return, either in the home state or even NY State, if they have no other earnings there and are (because you are) not a NYS resident (or even if a NYS resident with no other earnings). They don’t withhold anything, taxes, federal or state, or medicare, or state stuff like disability, nada, so you don’t have to file to get your $ back even if you otherwise would not owe any tax, again based on the work study amount itself. If the student earns money elsewhere, that plus the work study money might put them over the filing threshhold, which is about $6,100 federally for single filers who are dependents (about $10K for single filers who are not dependents); the likelihood is that your student will be taken by you to be a dependent on your return, so the likely federal filing limit is >~$6,100. If you go for it, strongly suggest you or they set up direct deposit of the earnings to their bank account of choice, because college kids lose checks (!) - and some banks will give students free (ie, no fee) checking with no requirement to maintain a minimum balance BUT ONLY if they have a direct deposit set up, and this qualifies for that. </p>
<p>Now, as to whether or not to take the job, that depends on the job, what it is, whether you can study whilst doing it (lifeguarding, for example, despite one’s knee jerk sense that, hey, they’re just sitting there, really shouldn’t involve any distractions, like studying.) We told our kids that your first job is to succeed with your studies, and we meant it, but if you wanted to so some work study for pocket $, that was ok too. It does get them involved with people through the job, depending, so that might be good. Maybe if they’re a varsity athlete that plus work study might be too much. It depends entirely on the kid, and the job. And whether they’ve earned during the summer enough not to desire the $ from work study. Also, one last bit, some of the jobs are actually in academic departments, so it might be a chance to meet on the inside people there, if you have an interest in a particular department, rather than lifeguarding or working in the AC/DC (if they even offer that). </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>