<p>Hey CC Community, just wanted to ask about what work study is.</p>
<p>I recently got accepted to my top school and got a affordable financial aid package. It says I have a work study and just wanted to know what it is and how it works. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m probably not being super technical here, but basically you take jobs on your school’s campus, and the government pays you. However, you don’t get the money, that money just goes directly into paying off your tuition. The jobs are also fairly easy things like tech support for students.</p>
<p>I did, too!</p>
<p>From what I have heard from college visits, it is a part-time job at the school such as working in the coffee shop a few hours a week.</p>
<p>Federal Work Study is a subsidy to certain types of employers to give them incentive to preferentially hire students with FWS eligibility (since the student’s pay will be partially paid by FWS).</p>
<p><a href=“Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program”>http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.html</a></p>
<p>WS can be Federal or Institutional. WS is part of your FA package that you must work for to receive. You do get a checks for your WS, up to the amount you were allocated in your FA package. So if you don’t work enough hours over the school year, there is the possibility of leaving money on the table. Schools and jobs vary in how much they pay per hour.</p>
<p>Your school will have an office that lists WS positions on campus, frequently you can view these online; it’s often a good idea to start looking before school starts as the more coveted positions often go early. Jobs can be anything from clerical positions to food service to shelving books in the library to lab work. My kids jobs have included being a student advisor in the school health center, cataloging books in an art library, and assisting with biological research.</p>
<p>x-posted w/ucb & noname</p>
<p>Work-study jobs are funded by the government. Your FA award entitles you to apply to a work study job that is usually on campus. It does not guarantee you a job. Nor does it guarantee that you will be given enough hours to earn your full award. When you interview you need to make sure that enough hours are available. Once you reach your award limit, the hours generally stop unless the department has funds of its own to pay you. I believe most schools split the award into two parts. Half for fall and half for spring. Check your school web site for how and when to apply. It is very competitive so make sure you start applying as soon as the school allows. There will probably be wide range of jobs available. </p>
<p>In my daughter’s case, they pay her. I believe that is the case for all schools. Tuition is usually due before you start classes each tern unless you are on a payment plan.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how being an RA would impact, help or hinder work-study programs? Or is being an RA considered a work-study program? Would it ever happen for a student to be an RA and also do separate work-study job in addition? </p>
<p>Pmmy…um…no. At MOST colleges, students look for work study jobs. These are jobs that are funded with work study money provided by the government (although some schools also have their OWN WS programs). The student applies for, interviews, and is hopefully hired for a job. Then the student works. They usually receive pay for their work on a regular schedule, just like any other job. In other words, the money goes TO the student. At some places, students can elect to have their WS earnings sent directly to their bursar’s account. But some schools won’t do that at all.</p>
<p>Most students either bank the money for the following term’s costs…or they use WS earnings for personal expenses.</p>
<p>RE: being an RA. It is a time consuming job. To be honest, I’m not sure one would really be able to be an RA and hold down another job. Also, do NOT count on getting an RA job. These are highly competitive positions to obtain…no guarantee that you will get one.</p>
<p>Workstudy that is part of a financial aid package gives the student the privilege to look at jobs listed that are funding by work study money. You have NO guarantee most of the time as to whether you get a job that fits your schedule, uses your award money up, is logistically possible, that you like. You are not guaranteed to get any of those jobs either. You apply, and if you get the job, you work and get a paycheck usually every two weeks. No social security taken out, but the income does go towards your tax considerations. It is NOT included in your financial aid app as income or assets (if you leave the amounts in place in an account) for the next year. </p>
<p>So it is opening up a listing of jobs to you that not everyone gets. You do not have to use up all of your workstudy allocation. That’s just the max you can get from those funds. Some jobs are also funded by the school and it’s possible to switch over to non workstudy when the WS funds run out None of this guaranteed, however. </p>
<p>My niece could not find a job her freshman year that worked for her. It’s tough sometimes for freshmen and they do not know the ropes and often the experienced upperclassmen get the goodies first. She wanted more money than the WS award was anyways, so she just found a regular part time job that fit her schedule and paid her what she wanted. But then second term she found a work study position in a departmental office that was just perfect for her. She could just work a little right after class and it was related to her specific interests. It was truly a perfect match, and since she did not use any of the funds first term, she was able to work the job using the whole year allocation. She expanded the position and even ran out the ws funds, and continued being paid from departmental funds. The following year, she made it a pretty big part of her work schedule and it’s figured prominently on her resume and future plans. </p>
<p>But a lot of the jobs are security (checking IDs), cafeteria, shelving books, etc. </p>
<p>Schools have their own way they handle RAs, Rumrunner. Some schools do not even pay them-they may get a free room. Or some will pay them and since most of the time RA jobs are open to most anyone, it won’t matter if you have a work study allocation or not. It’s a job, just like you can get flipping burgers to meet your EFC. WorkStudy funds are given as financial aid and do not go towards your EFC. You have to have fderally defined need though FAFSA EFC to get federal work study (though schools can make their own rules for their private work study). In my above example, my niece, worked privately and then added a workstudy job when she found one She also applied to be an RA (did not get the position; they are highly competitive) and at her school, it would have given her a stipend which would NOT be considered financial aid any more than the job she got at the yogurt shop when she couldn’t find a work study position from the school list of what was available. </p>
<p>To pile on, pmmy is wrong. Ws money goes to you. It’s a normal paycheck. You can then use the money for tuition or whatever else.</p>
<p>And also…they are JOBS,and are no easier than jobs in the private sector. </p>
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<p>Not necessarily true. Actually, there are 3 different types of work study.</p>
<p>The Federal Work-Study Program (FWSP) is a federally funded program to assist needy students in earning money to meet educational costs. Participation in the program is determined by the student’s financial need and is awarded as part of the financial aid package. Earnings are not applied directly to the tuition bill, but are used by the student to cover costs such as books, personal items, and transportation. FWSP funds may only be used on campus with on-campus employers or with approved off-campus community service employers.</p>
<p>Employment is an alternative form of funding for students who do not qualify for work-study funds, usually for citizenship reasons. Regulation of the Employment program mirrors the FWSP in that a student must show a financial need to be eligible for such funding.</p>
<p>Non-work study/employment jobs are jobs that can be offered to anyone whether or not they are work study eligible. They may be jobs through on-campus vendors (book stores, food courts, etc). Non-work study jobs may also be on-campus jobs that the school provide for international students to work while they are in school in the US</p>
<p>Only FWS jobs are subsidized by the federal govt. The school may have jobs that are only eligible for federal work study students. Unless your aid package specifically states that you have federal work study, you are not eligible to apply for a federal work study job.</p>
<p>The challenge with any work study job is if you don’t find a job and work the hours, you don’t get the money. there are a lot of schools that do not have enough jobs for all work study eligible students</p>