Can someone please explain exactly how work/study works?

<p>I have a Rice Grant and work/study for $1800 (900/semester).
I want to know how that works. What does the grant include and what is the work/study part for. I understand that the CoA includes traveling and books and incidentals, is that the part that work study covers? Can I earn more than $900/semester? Can someone please give more details as to what exactly work/study is?</p>

<p>I got the same deal that you did. To my knowledge, work/study simply entails working a light, on-campus job for 10-15 hours per week and having the money deposited directly to your account every semester (I don't know if this happens on a bi-weekly basis like being on payroll or if they simply deposit the money at the end of the semester). Since I'm sure that a lot of students do work/study, you'd probably have to ask the FA Office if you wanted to work more.</p>

<p>It's a great deal! Some schools "give" you $2500 or $3000 in workstudy - knowing full well that it is almost impossible to earn that much unless you work 18 hours or so a week. If you don't earn it, you don't get the money. Rice only "gives" you $1800 - which at $8.00 an hour x 30 weeks x 8 hours a week is very reasonable. If you get a better paying job, you work less. They can't pay you more than that, but there are non-workstudy jobs (including off-the-books ones, like private tutoring high school students, child care) that you can get, even if you don't have work/study. Money is deposited bi-weekly into your bank account (not towards your school bill.) You can use the money for whatever you want. My DS pays all his personal expenses, books etc using workstudy and some of summer earnings.<br>
You have to LOOK for your workstudy job -actively - as soon as you get on campus. There will always be a job for you if you have workstudy at Rice, but they don't assign you one - you apply for each position. :)</p>

<p>thanks a lot. So, the grant that I received covers tuition, R&B only? So the work/study is for the trips, living expenses, and books?</p>

<p>Well... they figure out how much money you need, using a standard budget (which includes room and board and books and personal expenses and travel and tuition), then subtract what you and your family can contribute, then give you a grant for the rest minus the workstudy amount. (With students over $80,000 income, there would also be small loans.) The grant covers whatever it covers until the money is used up. If the amount is more than just the fixed costs - tuition, room and board and o-week fees, etc, then you'll get the extra back as a check. Last year, when I had 2 at Rice, (so quite a lot of "financial need"), and DD was living off-campus, Rice actually wrote her a check for about $1000. Her financial aid paid for all tuition, and since she wasn't living on campus the "extra" $1000 went right to her. She used it to help pay for her housing/food. She also worked a great on-campus job even though she didn't have workstudy.</p>

<p>ya'll shouldn't be so preoccupied with this. if they didn't want calls, they wouldn't have operators. end of story. you calling the office will have no affect on your admissions decision.</p>

<p>I've already been accepted but anyway</p>

<p>anxiousmom I dont understand. </p>

<p>So are you saying this? I got $44370 in Rice grants plus the $1800 work/study for a total of $46,170. So let's say that tuition is 31k (I think it went up this year so I'm just throwing this number out there), R&B is 11k. That leaves 4k from the total award. Now, you are saying that Rice would cut me a check for 2k and then I'd work for the other 2k? The 2k check would help go toward my personal expenses and books along with the amount from work/study? Again, I just threw the CoA numbers out there.</p>

<p>Basically, I'll get the work/study wont cover all the books and personal expenses and Rice will give a check to cover the rest of what they feel you will need to live on after tuition and R&B?</p>

<p>If I am assuming this correctly, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Especially since I am one of the best budgetors in my family :) . Thanks for the great info!</p>

<p>A quick associated question: how many would be granted with work/study?</p>

<p>Anyone with any institutionally determined financial "need" will receive $1800 of workstudy. (with this exception; in the past some students with merit scholarships received preferential FA packages with no work/study at all, all grant. I don't know if Rice still does that now that they have changed the no-loan thresholds.)</p>

<p>And yes, Pyles, that is correct... at some point in the semester they'd write you a check for any money surpluses in your financial aid account after they paid your tuition, room and board, o-week fees, and other mandatory school fees; the $1800 workstudy money would either be issued to you as biweekly check or direct deposited to your bank account (the best way to do it) as you work and earn that money.</p>

<p>Thank you SO much. I'm so glad to have this info. I'm currently working on outside scholarships to eliminate that W/S anyway but if not, it's still good.</p>

<p>keep in mind you don't HAVE to work even if you get WS. rice will credit you the amount each semester and you have the option of getting a WS job to earn the money for your personal use.</p>