Most jobs are 5-6 to 10-12, because that’s the recommended number of hours you can work without hurting your grades. 12 hours is already on the higher side.
A “paid to study” job can be had for more hours (welcome desk, library…) but other than that you need to be careful and not get ahead of yourself. Also, if you truly need more hours, the early shift in the cafeteria is always looking for more workers, so if you are really pressed for money that’s always a quick fix.
I honestly can’t tell you how much time you need to study. For instance if your taking Calculus and find it easy homework is quicker than if your struggling but can be time consuming even if easy depending on the actual assignment. Some assignments might simply be to read a textbook chapter before class and the time depends on the chapter, your reading speed etc. Some days you might have big papers to work on or group projects etc which can take more time.
Honestly I since the money is nice to have but not critical I would only do one work study job. This will be easier in the beginning as you figure out what activities you want to do, figure out the best homework routine for you etc. With work study the number of hours you can work depends also on the amount of money you received and how much you get paid per hour which is often determined by a the job as well as what help they need. I would compromise and do one job and not take money from your mother to start. Realistically once your books/supplies are purchased you will probably have enough spending money with one job.
@Mom2Girls2 the ws job is 100% tuition. I took that money into account when I made my final decision.
The second job would probably be half tuition half spending money
I may not be understanding correctly since it was many years ago that I did work study. How is it tuition. I had to pay my tuition in full and earn the work study money if I chose. However since tuition was already fully paid the money I earned was my own personal money. Are you talking about giving it to your parents for having already paid the tuition? Do you get to pay tuition gradually as you work off your work study hours now?
I still say college is just starting don’t overdo it. Give yourself time to see how academics are and to get involved with fun activities.
@momtogirls2 I’m talking about using the work study money for following quarters/years of tuition. All that is paid for right now is the first quarter.
Just had a conversation with my mom:
Me: what if I pay you back the money after I start making money after I get my degree?
Mom: would that make you feel better?
Me: yes
Mom: ok that’s fine.
So I can comfortably work the one job without feeling like I’m taking something from her. I can think of it as an interest free loan and not have to worry about messing with her retirement. I’m planning on living below my means to save money anyways no matter how much I end up making (at least until/if I start a family). And, assuming I’m not dirt poor for 20 years after college, I will absolutely pay her back.
Idk if I mentioned before, but this arrangement would just be for freshman year. After that I would work for any extra money i want.
@soontobecolleger There is an expression, penny wise, pound foolish. Your classes will get harder in sophomore, junior year. You don’t want to damage your GPA for a hundred dollars a week. You’re investing too much.
@soontobecolleger : you found a great solution. Congratulations. This way you don’t have to worry and you can concentrate on your first quarter. Enjoy, do well, and make your mom proud (don’t forget to give her news!) 
UPDATE: I had a job interview and got the job! And I’ll be working for a national org that requires a minimum of 300 hours throughout the year (10-12 hours a week) which means… they are bumping up my WS allotment by $900 for the year!!! So I will have plenty of spending money and my mother was very relieved when I told her
Congratulations! Very happy for you
@MYOS1634 thank you’
That worked out great!. I’ve never heard of anyone getting their work study allotment increased.
@Mom2Girls2 Me neither. I was shocked. Right at the beginning of the interview, she said “we are funded by americorps which is a national program that requires everyone work 300 hours, so I spoke to the FA office here, and they said if I offer you a position and you accept it, we can bump up your allotment from 2700 to 3600 so that you will be paid for the full 300 hours”. She said that the FA office sometimes says no… n the person just has to volunteer the rest of the time so idk how they decide
Perhaps they considered your previous experience combined with financial need made you deserving of an exception?
@MYOS1634 previous experience?
I may confuse you with another poster, but I was under the impression that you had volunteer experience from high school.
@MYOS1634 yeah I had volunteer experience in high school but why would that increase my WS allotment? I thought the FA office makes the decision n not the employer
I’m thinking that, due to your experience, they felt you’d be a good “employee” for what they want, and since you must do 300H, they’d rather have you do the 300 with them; and since apparently you had a bit more financial need, the FA office was able to raise the WS limit to what was needed. If the Americorps system hadn’t felt you were a good fit, they likely wouldn’t have called the FA office on your and their behalf. I doubt they do it for all freshman applicants, so they must have had a reason, and a logical reason is that you’d be a great fit for their needs, which they can only know if they knew a bit about you, your personality, work ethics, experience…
@MYOS1634 ah thanks for the explanation. Guess there is a good bit of pressure then for me to do well. I’ll try my best.
10-12…that is all that work study will give you.
Also remember: It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 hours outside the classroom doing homework. This is what is expected at accredited colleges. Treat this like a full time job.
Non-STEM course often involve a lot of reading so they can be very time consuming.
Just working over the summer and winter break to save up money for the next college year.
Also if you go to school full time and work 20 hours, you will not have time to spend the money.
@soontobecolleger : how did your first week go?