<p>Hi, I'm going to be a freshmen attending to college this fall, and I was skeptical about the actual benefits of FWS program. If I am correct, I believe it works something like this: I get paid hourly, for instance $8 an hour, and the government subsidizes the employer which reduces the cost of hiring me. So the actual program benefits the employer much more than me, because I still have to pay the loan that the government subsidized for me. The opportunity cost of this application is that I could be getting a normal part time job for the same amount of hourly pay and not pay back the government loan. Is the only benefit from FWS program a higher chance of getting a job? Please feel free to give me suggestions on whether I should do FWS or not.</p>
<p>FWS is not a loan, it is a job on campus that is federal government kicks in some money to help pay you for working. The upside is that you know have a boss that is more than willing to work with your schedule, you can study when things are slow on the job (I know I can), you don’t have to rush off to a job that may be far from campus as soon as you get out of class, etc.</p>
<p>FWS is not a loan. You receive it in a paycheck for hours worked. You do not have to pay it back. </p>
<p>The main financial benefit of a WS job is that it is not held against you for financial aid the following year. Other income may increase your EFC and reduce your FA eligibility. WS income does not. A student has @ $4000 protected income (it may be a little over that now). Any income over the protected amount 50% goes to your EFC. So, with a protected income of $4000, if your non WS income is $6000 then your EFC would go up by 1000 the following year. If your $6000 income is $4000 non WS and $2000 WS then there would be no impact on your EFC as the $4000 is protected income and the $2000 WS does not affect the EFC.</p>
<p>WS income is taxable income or federal and state taxes but you do not pay FICA taxes on it as you would on other income (they are @ 6.7%).</p>
<p>At many schools the majotiry of on campus jobs are WS. My daughter had WS the 1st 2 years but does not this year as she has the SMART grant which met her need. She has found it almost impossible to find any on campus jobs without WS.</p>
<p>that’s great news for me. I don’t know why I thought it was a loan, but this makes me feel much better about my financial aid status.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s school (large DI university), the fin aid office told us that there are many more regular jobs available than ws jobs on campus.</p>
<p>The amount of FWS money you get is dependent on the amount you earn by working. For example, if the school offers you $2000 in FWS and you only earn $1200, you have to come up with an additional $800 somewhere else to meet your COA.</p>
<p>There’s the convenience of it. You can squeeze in some paying work before, between, or after classes. If you’re lucky, you can find yourself in an academically rewarding position. By this I mean you could do something mundane like answer phones and do clerical work in the academic department of your major. It can bode well for you to have letters of recommendation that begin, “I know XXXX in both a professional and academic setting…”</p>
<p>Lastly, the money you earn from WS does not count against you when determining your EFC!</p>