Regarding Question #31, how does saying that your student is interested or not interested in work study affect one’s aid package? Is there any disadvantage to stating that your student is not interested in work study? …other than not receiving work study funds, of course.
Federal work study has limited funds per campus. If your kid qualifies for need based aid, then it’s probably a good idea to check YES. Work study jobs are on campus jobs primarily. There tends to be good flexibility when it comes to exams and the like.
And if your student gets a work study job (they do have to apply and be hired), it’s a job where they can earn money for discretionary spending or things like books.
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I don’t want my kid to work their first year. Before we check the no box, I wanted to see if it would adversely affect our aid package in someway.
I don’t think this will affect your kid’s financial aid award.
Your kid can get the work study award and then never apply for a job…but you may reconsider this for second semester!
There is good research out there that students budget their time better when they work up to about 10 hours a week.
We didn’t want our kids to work first term. But they went to college and both found very reasonable jobs time wise.
We checked YES for the work study thing. One of our kids got WS when we had two in college at the same time. The other didn’t.
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Thank you. That’s very helpful!
I’m pretty sure there is no down side. Work study jobs need to be applied for, they aren’t just handed out. So if your student doesn’t want one, they can just not apply once they are on campus.
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Wanting to add that it is probably an advantage to check the box for work study— it shows you are open to all forms of aid. It’s not going to decrease any grant aid, so there is no downside to saying yes and possibly a small upside.
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I checked the box for S20 for his freshman year and this year. I didn’t want him to work because I wanted him to focus on school work and getting adjusted to college in general, but I wanted the workstudy option available in case … just in case he changed his mind second semster like thumper1 said.
It didn’t adversely affect our aid package. In fact there was a small unanticipated benefit. Because of C19, many workstudy opportunities across the country were eliminated for many needy students. The federal government realized this placed a great burden on those students, so the government distributed funds to schools to distribute to students who checked the workstudy box. The amount varied from as little as the school chose to as much as, I’ve heard anecdotally, $2K-$3K. We received some. We would not have received any had we not checked that box.
But beyond that unexpected surprise, I think it’s a good idea to sign up. If my son eventually feels the need/desire to earn a little extra money (outside of an internship) I’d rather it be as a workstudy job instead of some similarly low-paying job off campus. A sometimes benefit of an on-campus workstudy job is many involve sitting at a desk/counter waiting for someone to come up and ask for something. Many students use some workstudy jobs as paid study time - that’s harder to accomplish if a student is working off campus. When we went on a college-tour spree in 2019-20, we’d see students sitting at a bowling alley check-in counter or library service desk or at the visitor table in the Admissions office or in a gym at the check-in counter or wherever, with no one in line while they studied from open books.
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Wow, that worked out well! It sounds like there isn’t a downside to checking YES and it’s better to keep the option open, especially if one of those “sit at a desk and study” jobs comes available.
. Thank you!
I guess the question becomes, “Why would you check the NO box?” 
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I think some people assume that checking the box obligates the student to work if a job is offered. I was unsure about that early in the process and I hesitated at that question until I discovered the student is not required to accept any job they don’t wish to perform.
Another thing that confused me in the beginning is when I was reviewing Cost and FinAid breakdowns, work study was always listed on the FinAid side with grants/scholarships/loans. It was usually included with a (-) sign in front of it like the other categories which, to me, insinuated it was deducted from your Cost side. I later learned that Workstudy money is not actually deducted from the cost side, in large part because the student is not obligated to work and earn any money in the first place. When reviewing FinAid documents, it is sometimes necessary to add any amount listed as Workstudy back into the pot you are expected to pay.
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We checked the box for D20. Her SLAC has very few jobs available (mostly tutoring and interns, not in the library or gym like when I was in school). The WS kids get first crack and can apply 2 weeks before non-WS kids. While she hasn’t been qualified for any jobs so far, we’re hoping that changes after she’s been there a while. She hasn’t needed the money so far, and hasn’t had the time, but if things change we want her to have the best chances.
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Some schools will legitimately deduct work study money from the cost side. That cost side (the school’s Cost of Attendance figures) includes items that are not directly billed by the school, such as books &supplies, travel and personal items. These kinds of things are what work study wages are meant to pay for. Including possible work study wages along with grants and scholarships on the financial aid side is perfectly appropriate, but the practice will vary by school policy.
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I agree those items are what the school was targeting.
However, if a Work Study job is not guaranteed, and even if a ws job is secured the hours are not guaranteed, I think it could cause a hardship financial shortfall for the institution to estimate any dollar amount in the Work Study column of FinAid documentation presented to the family prior to enrollment. Some students/families are on the financial edge when it comes to college costs. If a school’s FinAid office lists $2000 in the Work Study column but a student is only able to actually earn $800 via Work Study, that could cause severe financial distress for some.
I think it should be made explicitly clear to students/families that Work Study money could vary wildly. We received a lot (A LOT) of FinAid forms from schools during the 2020 application/enrollment period. Many listed Work Study amounts as if they were as certain as the PG and scholarship amounts.
I’m suggesting it would be a better idea to list the Work Study estimations with an asterisk and clearly denote it is not guaranteed. And to explicitly state Work Study amounts listed are not applied directly to University charges such as Tuition/R&B/fees. That information might be available elsewhere in the university’s material, but it should also be on every FinAid form sent to a family that lists estimated amounts for Work Study.
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Hopefully, a school that includes work study wages as a benefit on a financial aid offer has a reasonable expectation that suitable employment will be available for all students who are offered work study. The school should have a pretty good idea how much federal money can be budgeted for work study, and then make that money available for actual jobs. Sometimes they may just be “make work” jobs that involve more opportunity to study while sitting at a check-in desk than, say, working alongside a physics professor on a research project. The main point is to get the funds to those students who are in financial need, while also creating an opportunity for the student to practice time management skills and further develop a work ethic that the school might be able to also benefit from.
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