Hello all. If I did not qualify for federal work study, does that mean I will be unable to participate in the program?
Also, do students make more from work study than from a regular part time job? By that I’m meaning does the federal work study program have extra benefits instead of just offering a part time job for the student at the school. And lastly, if I didn’t qualify for work study, am I still able to attain a job at the university. I’m a bit lost in this whole financial aid process so I really appreciate the help!
You do have to qualify for work study. If you didn’t you can still get a regular job, on or of campus. There are some tax and financial aid benefits to work study, but it is fine if you just have to have a regular job.
Some jobs are work study only, and you won’t be able to apply for those, but many schools still have plenty of jobs for students.
There should be a job opportunities page on the college website that you are considering. My D qualified for work study and was able to choose 5, 7, or 10 hours each week. Because that wasn’t enough, she was also able to find a non work-study job tutoring in the chemistry department. The work study job pays $9/hr, the tutoring job $10/hr.
The benefit of work-study positions is that they generally find the hours most convenient to you/your academic schedule. In D’s case, the tutoring job was also pretty flexible. She is able to work 15 hours/week with no weekends or holidays, something that is rare for freshmen.