Hi all, So I recently saw a job posting at my university looking for a student lab assistant. I went to apply and it said I was ineligible because I had not been awarded an amount for work study in my financial aid package.
So i called the fin. aid office. the guys tells me that " I applied too late and that funds are limited" I thought he meant I have to apply through the financial aid office but everything I read; including on the college’s website says you simply say “yes” to being interested in work study and file your FAFSA and the the college will determine eligibility.
I filed my FAFSA on time, it was processes on january 4th of this year, my EFC is 0.
So basically I am wondering how I am ineligible or havent been offered a work study?
My financial aid package consists of a Federal Pell grant, FSEOG grant, and two student loans totaling $10k for the year. My total financial aid package is $16k for the year, which covers tuition and a bit more.
Could this be why I was not offered work study? Because they throw loans at my face and say “there your college is paid for”.
thanks,
You need to ask the FA office again. Make sure it is not a student this time. Schools do grant financial aid, including WS, quickly and some give preference to those who had it the year before and freshmen. My daughter didn’t get it last year either and when she asked, they said to ask again the first week of school as some students who are awarded WS don’t accept it or don’t return to school, so they’ll reaward it.
I sent the FA office an email this afternoon asking about it, so we’ll see. Im also going to call them tomorrow to ask about my endowed scholarships that they were supposed to notify me about… in May.
Im starting to get righteously p*ssed at the incompetence of that office.
anyway, thanks for the reply.
Don’t get pissed. Except for the Pell Grant, you’re not owed any free money or optional aid. Be polite. The school may have decided to offer you the option FSEOG grant instead of WS.
Work study is a need based financial aid award. Colleges have limited funding for WS awards. These are typically awarded on a first come, first served basis. It is very possible that the WS funds had already been allocated when you sent your financial application to your school.
It is also possible that the school chose not to award you WS as you got other forms of need based aid.
As an anecdote…my son had the same experience. He also did not receive WS in his financial aid package. He applied for a job that was funded only with WS funds…meaning only a stent with a work study award could have the job. The sad thing…this job was a bit unique and required a specific skill set which my son had (it was for a manger for the college youth orchestra). No one with a WS award applied for he job at all…so t went unfilled…and others had to pick up those responsibilities. DS checked a few times during the year to see if maybe there was a change. No.
Start looking for jobs that are not funded with WS funds. Most campuses have other jobs that are funded with university funds.
haha I never said I was owed anything. I was expressing my irritation at the Financial Aid office for being more than untimely with their reviewing of my scholarship application. I am polite every time I talk to them, But it is quite annoying when you call each month and after 20 minutes of waiting they tell you the exact same thing " your application is still being reviewed". I understand they have alot of applications to sort through, but it would be nice to find out if i will be getting any scholarships before I accept the full amount of my loans.
That may be the case, but I would rather forfeit the FSEOG In place of WS. I would prefer to get some lab experience outside of class under my belt as opposed to a $600 grant (not knocking the amount, every bit helps).
thanks for the input.
Most would rather have the ‘free’ grant money than the WS money, because you can get another job and earn the WS, plus have the $600. But, if you’d rather have to work before you get the $600, tell them. I think the above posters are right that the FA office does try to spread out the money among all the students who have need.
Did you look in the student listings to see if other non-WS lab jobs are listed? Sometimes they are. You don’t get the tax benefit of WS, but that tax benefit won’t be $600, so you’ll have the grant and earn some money.
Don’t worry about the loans. Accept them if you need to, but you can always change the amount you accept, even for a short time after the amount is disbursed. If you get the scholarship, great. The FA office can fix it.
You can look for other jobs as there are jobs that you can get that may not be federal work study eligible.
Yeah, like I said i mostly wanted the job for the lab experience. I didn’t see any non-WS lab jobs listed so eh.
The FA office said that it’s too late because the WS funds have been disbursed for the following year. I wont be getting any of the 8 scholarships I applied for either (which were all based on need). So yeah, cheers.
thanks anyways guys.
Sometimes there is a waiting list for FWS. If not all positions get filled you can get the job later, so keep checking with them. You could also approach the department if there would be a possibility of them hiring another lab assistant.
You might have to advocate for yourself.