On my financial aid package, I just realized it says “Student Employment- Federal”. I looked more into it, and it seems that my vision of work study is different from what it actually is. Can anyone elaborate for me? I assumed at first it just meant I would have to find a job on campus and the money I get towards that goes to tuition in financial aid. It says $2,400 total for year. As I read some threads it now seems like work study is offered to students so they are able to pay for additional expenses and is not required to pay to the school. Can anyone offer me some information? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, I’m first generation college student so never really had anyone to guide me about this. Thanks for whoever replies!
You would find a job and you’d get the paycheck. That’s a good and bad thing, as the money is incorporated into your award but isn’t there on the first day to pay your bill. Your semester bill from the school could be something like $20k for tuition, $8k for room and board, so on Sept 1 you owe $28k. Your financial aid could be $15k for scholarship, $3k in a loan and $2k in work study. The school is only going to credit you $18k on your bill. You are going to have to pay $10k and can’t wait until you earn that $2k in work study.
The money comes to you as you earn it; you pay the school when billed.
You can use the money you earn from a work study job to pay for ANYTHING you want to use it for.
We do have information from one school saying that there is an option to have the work-study earnings credited to the tuition bill, but it’s optional any many schools won’t do that. I am assuming that the credit would be usable on a future payment or future semester, not retroactively.
The school can have any payment plan it wants, but most won’t do what you are suggesting. There are Truth and lending disclosures required if they have (or accept) more than 4 payments on the debt and that’s why most schools do not run their own payment plans. They also don’t want to get into the collection business if you don’t pay.
@twoinanddone @pauler80020 @thumper1 Thank you, but I’m still a little confused. I’m low income and the school is paying most of my tuition and room and board with grants. I have a few thousand dollar in loans and what’s left for my parents to pay is very little. When I add total fees up from the school its around 64,000 however, my FA package total (including loans, grants, scholarships, and federal work study) is around 65,000. So it seems like the work study goes towards miscellaneous items? or am I paying the school back? I’m probably confusing myself out lol. Thanks again though, I appreciate it.
You are also not guaranteed to earn the full work study amount. It gives the max you can earn with federal work study because it is need based.
But what you actually earn will depend on what job you find, the hourly rate and how many hours a week you work.
@mommdc Thank you, so where does this money go to? or should I say who? I don’t really care how much I get, I was going to work anyways in college. But will this be an additional job I have to do just to pay for tuition fees or room and board required by the school or miscellaneous items for me? (textbooks, food, clothes etc)
The work study is intended to cover those incidentals. You aren’t billed the entire COA, you are expected to pay Target or CVS or the fast food places for things you buy in the semester, and you’ll need money so the cost of the college includes and estimate for those. Your Financial aid can include those incidentals and you are allowed to get a financial aid package that covers them, including loans and work study.
Your fees from the school are $64k, and your FA $65k, but that $65k includes the work study. Subtract that out as it won’t be in your package. You will be billed $32k/sem, and your FA will probably be $31k if you subtract the work study ($65k - $2k in work study /2 =$31k). You’ll then owe them $1000 before you have a chance to earn it.
@twoinanddone Thanks, that helped me so much.
You receive an award for Federal Work Study, but that doesn’t mean they reduce your bill by that amount. You have to pay the tuition bill up front, whatever it is after any scholarships, grants, loans, or whatever are deducted. Then, during the semester, you work your Federal Work Study job and get paid. Technically, that money can be spent on whatever you want. You can save it and apply it to next semester’s bill if you want, but its probably more realistic that you will spend it on things you need at the time. That’s how my son’s school does it at least. From reading other comments, it sounds like there are other ways it’s handled as well.
The only difference in federal work-study and any other job is that the WS earnings get subtracted out of your earnings when calculating FA. In other words - it won’t hurt your FA award in future years just because you had income.
WS is NOT money you should consider as part of your package. This is just one of the many ways college FA packages can be misleading.
Also, there are no FICA subtractions from work-study earnings.
There are some jobs set aside by the school just for work study students. Usually you work around 10 hrs a week.
The school might have a website where you can find work study job postings.
Once you work, you should get a weekly or biweekly paycheck.