If Work Study is reduced by outside scholarship what happens? Where does the $ go?

Paying for College
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<p>I can't find the answer ANYWHERE and I have looked at dozen of websites....</p>

<p>Where does the money go?</p>

<p>So I received a scholarship for college. I can reduce Work Study. What will happen? Will I receive a check/be credited into my account (equivalent to the Work Study $ reduced, i.e. the money that I would have had to work for) or will the money just "disappear"?</p>

<p>Thank very much for your answers.</p>

<p>School policy: reduce WS or loans first with outside scholarship, then the school's own aid contribution.</p>

<p>Thank you very much for your answers. This whole thing is so confusing...</p>

2

<p>Work Study money needs to be “earned” via a campus job. So for next year you may have been awarded 4,000 in Work Study – but that is just a cap or limit and you start out the fall with $0 in your student account. As you work hours, you start seeing that Work Study money dribble into your account just like a paycheck, hour by hour you work you earn that hourly rate. You can work up to X hours and earn 4,000 - but no more. So if you work a lot you may finish up the 4K of work early in the year. If you are lazy and don’t work at all or only a few hours, you are out of luck and perhaps only earn a few hundred dollars. Once the school year is up, any of that 4K you DID NOT EARN is simple that - unearned potential. You do not get the balance.</p>

<p>So, if you have an outside scholarship that you were given, let’s say 3,000 in scholarship, your Work Study cap (limit) would likely get reduced to the difference. Your Work Study award would be $1000 now… and you would have to work a campus job to earn that amount of money dribble by dribble paycheck.</p>

<p>Where does the money go? Well, the campus budgets likely several 100K or even more for student workers to earn cash (Work Study) - they likely overbudget out those awards knowing that many kids won’t work the hours. The school gets some grunt work done on campus (desk workers, library workers, cafeteria workers, office workers) but each year they “offer” out more opportunity in total-cash available to workers to earn than will be used. They roll that difference over to the next year OR just absorb it back into their budget surplus depending on what the campus wants to do with its own budget.</p>

<p>Does that make more sense?</p>

<p>If you have EARNED the Work Study already (you worked a month this summer on campus) - you keep the earned money. It is like a paycheck. But - your yearly limit/cap from, here on out because of the scholarship has likely changed and you may find yourself stopped from working future hours once you hit that limit.</p>

<p>If you have received SO MUCH scholarship that it covers more than your bills (tuition, etc) - you will get the excess scholarship money in however the bursar’s office dispurses the excess. Often via your student account you will then have an excess that you can draw upon.</p>

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<p>You don’t get work study money deposited into your account in one lump sum at the beginning of the term. You have to find a work study job and work the hours before you get paid just as you would any other job. When you get work study as part of your financial aid package, all that means is that you are cleared to go look at what the college has in work study jobs and pick one that fits your hours. Sometimes nothing is there if you are late in checking out the offerings. The upperclassmen who know the ropes tend to grab the better jobs. </p>

<p>So if you have an outside scholarship, you let your college know. The college will reduce or eliminate the work study hours you could have gotten during the school year.</p>

<p>As to your outside scholarship, it depends on the organization issuing the award as to how they give you the money. They may contact you and ask where to send it if they are going to send it directly to your college. Or they may just send the check to you. My son’s outside scholarship award came to him directly. </p>

<p>Usually the outside scholarship organizations will contact you to get confirmation that you are attending college this fall. where you are going to college, and where to send the check. Send them an email asking them when they will be sending the check and if they need anything from you to get the check cut and mailed. It is important that you give them their info in a timely manner. I’ve known kids who lost money because they just assumed it would magically appear in their college accounts. Doesn’t work that way. And sometimes the organization that is cutting the checks is different from the one that originally got your college info, so you cannot assume. Also remember to thank the organization for the award, each time you contact them.</p>

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<p>I don’t think I understand. So my school reduces: loans or work study (in the order a student chooses). Not anything else (no tuition reduction, etc (due to the COA determined by FAFSA)).</p>

<p>So let’s say my loans are $2000, my work study is $1500, and my outside scholarship is $4500. From what I understand, Loans are eliminated, then Work Study is eliminated, and then $1000 of the college’s own financial aid is reduced. </p>

<p>What I don’t understand is: Will $1500 (the amount I would have earned via Work Study) return to me in some fashion? If so, how will it?</p>

<p>Thanks for the great explanations so far. Sorry for the confusion.</p>

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<p>What I don’t understand is: Will $1500 (the amount I would have earned via Work Study) return to me in some fashion? If so, how will it?</p>

<p>Since you won’t be working the job that earns the work study money, you won’t get that money.</p>

<p>Work study is a federal program. The dollars stay with the program and will be earned by someone else who does the work and gets paid for the job.</p>

6

<p>If your work study award is ELIMINATED because of outside scholarships (and therefore reduced need) YOU will not receive any of the work study amount. That award will be taken out of your financial aid package.</p>

<p>If your work study is taken away…why would you think you would get any of that money??</p>

7

<p>Your outside scholarship REDUCES the work study, even eliminating it entirely if it is that of that size. So you don’t get work study any more, you don’t get the loan any more and you lose a portion of the college’s grant to you.</p>

8

<p>Look at it this way…</p>

<p>If your aid package says that you’ll be given $2500 throughout the year for working in the cafeteria, but then you get a scholarship for $2500 so you no longer need that cafeteria job. So…the cafeteria job (and the money!) will be given to someone else.</p>

9

<p>And, the outside scholarship relieves you of the time it would have taken you to do a WS job and earn that money. So, with that time, you could spend more effort on academics or ECs, or you could go out and get a job and earn additional money.</p>

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<p>Simplest answer in the OPs case is that the outside scholarship has replaced some of the originally awarded aid dollar for dollar. I think the OP thinks that the outside scholarship “stacks” onto what has already been awarded. So yes in the big picture OP the money from the feds “disappears” for you and is replaced by the outside scholarship money. You are equal because you still have the same amount of aid for college, but you don’t have “extra” aid in the form of the scholarship. Some colleges will stack…many do not.</p>

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<p>You also have to understand that by WORK STUDY AWARD, all it is basically the federal gov’t PAYS a chunk of your wages or salary. THUS, it is easier to find jobs with work study awards, why? Employers do not have to fully pay you out of their pockets.</p>

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<p>^^If you have a choice reduce the loans first then the Work Study. My son’s college doesn’t have a choice first reduced is W/S then loans and they make the reduction.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all the informed replies!</p>

<p>If the goal of the WS reduction is to ensure that “total aid does not exceed need”, it seems to me that I am being ‘short changed’. The scholarship will be sent directly to the school, my loans will be reduced (good thing) BUT my WS will be eliminated (and I don’t see anything in return?)</p>

<p>So in reality: My cost of attendance is the same, but my aid is lower.</p>

<p>Its awesome that if I don’t need WS, someone else has the opportunity to do it.
What I don’t like is that what was going to be very useful is now gone and I don’t get anything in return. I know that sounds really conceited, but when your parents are working very hard to pay their part and you are using 100% of your summer earnings for tuition and when WS was intended for book and basic supplies… you get in a financial sticky. </p>

<p>I see more incentive to not accept the scholarship (or at least ask for it to be reduced to cover loans only). </p>

<p>I don’t see the point of reducing a student’s WS award if the student gets nothing in return. </p>

<p>Happy summer,
CG</p>

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<p>Look at it this way - the scholarship is free money, no effort needed. The work study is not free money since you have to work for it…if you can even find a work study position! There is no guarantee that any ws job will exist for you, much less one that you would enjoy doing or get something out of (other than a low hourly wage). Otoh, most campuses and nearby business have non-work study positions and hire students. So you could take the free money and just work a regular job, thereby having your cake and eating it too!</p>

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<p>Agree with sk8rmom, if you want to work, chances are you can find something locally. There is nothing "special’ about work study except that indirectly the Feds pay your salary. You still have to locate and secure the job which for freshman is not as easy as for those that are already networked into the college. I think you’re overthinking your situation. Your need has not changed, your loans are reduced, you can still find a job and earn money if you need to. Thinking about reducing your scholarship so you can requalify for W/S seems a touch “drama” and not necessary hand wringing. If your scholarship is only one year, changes are the W/S will be back sophomore year as part of your package.</p>

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<p>*What I don’t like is that what was going to be very useful is now gone and I don’t get anything in return. I know that sounds really conceited, but when your parents are working very hard to pay their part and you are using 100% of your summer earnings for tuition and when WS was intended for book and basic supplies… you get in a financial sticky.</p>

<p>I see more incentive to not accept the scholarship (or at least ask for it to be reduced to cover loans only). *</p>

<p>Huh???</p>

<p>If I give you a birthday gift of $2500, would you decline it so that you could take a job and work for that $2500 instead? Do you see how crazy that would be? </p>

<p>*going to be very useful is now gone *</p>

<p>**The amount of money is NOT gone. ** it’s just in a different form. Instead of being given to incrementally from working hours, you’ll be given it FOR FREE for DOING NOTHING at the beginning of each semester!!!</p>

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<p>What? THANK YOU. That was the most simple and crystal clear answer. You understood exactly what I was asking Mom2CollegeKids.</p>

<p>So if I am hearing you right: Let’s say the scholarship covers 100% of my work study. I get 100% of the work study equivalent at the beginning of each semester?</p>

<p>Hahah. I made this much more discombobulating than it needed to be.</p>

<p>Thanks everybody.</p>

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<p>edit: mom2collegekids answered the OP’s question clearly and concisely. But I already typed this up, so…</p>

<p>OP, you aren’t going to get a check from your school (or a wad of cash for that matter). What you will get is that work study amount applied toward your tuition bill without having to work for it (so you’re still getting the benefit of your outside scholarship). </p>

<p>Let’s see a hypothetical scenario:</p>

<p>cost of attendance: 50,000
loans: 5,000
work study: 2,000
outside scholarship: 7,000</p>

<p>WITHOUT your outside scholarship, you would have to pay 45,000 at the beginning of the year (the bill is probably divided into semesters, but you get the point), you would take out 5,000 in loans, and then you would be given the opportunity to apply for/work at a work study job to earn up to 2,000 over the course of the year. </p>

<p>WITH your outside scholarship, you would pay 43,000 at the beginning of the year, you would not have loans, and you would not have the option of work study (but you already got that 2,000). You can still find a job to earn some money if you want; it just won’t be a job that is partially funded by the federal work study program. </p>

<p>Do you see how the second situation is better for you? </p>

<p>Now, assuming your school meets full need, if your scholarship were 8,000 instead of 7,000, your school would reduce their grant by 1,000 (so you wouldn’t directly benefit, but your school would be happy). Likewise, if your scholarship were 4,000 instead of 7,000, your loans would be reduced by 4,000 (so you would take a 1,000 loan), but your work study award would still be there. </p>

<p>Make sense?</p>

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<p>As I stated in an earlier post:</p>

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<p>So, if you take the time that you would have spent doing WS to earn the amount that you got in your scholarship and instead work an outside job to earn more money, THAT would lower your COA as you could apply that money to your travel, books, etc. costs.</p>

<p>x-posted w/CU</p>

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<p>Also, as brought up on another WS thread, sometimes it’s hard for a student to earn the entire WS amount during the year. If that happens, the amount of money unearned is essentially lost from your FA package. So, with the outside scholarship there is less pressure to work all of the hours needed to recoup that money.</p>