I have been awarded 750 an academic quarter in federal work-study. When it comes down to it, this is only 7.5 hours a week for 10 weeks, which is really not enough. Also, I have been working >10 hours every week, because I misunderstood and I thought I had 1500 an academic quarter. I’m going to run out of my annual allowance way before I finish my academic year and go on co-op.
Have any of you guys had luck appealing the federal work-study granted? I’m trying to decide whether I should work more right now, max out my work study, and then appeal, or try to decrease it so I can get a little bit here and there.
I wonder if your school would continue to employ you as a student worker rather than as a work study employee? When I was in school the university needed positions filled that went first to work study students, but gave other students the opportunity to work as well. I was never awarded work study, but still had plenty of hours of on campus work opportunities. My D didn’t have work study awarded either, but was hired for an on campus student position as well.
Check the university website, there may be other departments in need. Tutors, residence hall front desk attendants, food services, computer lab monitors, shelving books in a library, etc. My hubby worked in the maintenance dept. and did custodial work that wasn’t part of work study.
It depends on a lot of things. First of all, if you received $750 because that was all the “need” you had left, you will not get an increased FWS award even if you appeal. Look at your school’s Cost of Attendance, then subtract your EFC. That is “need.” From that, you have to subtract all subsidized aid (grants, scholarships, sub loan, FWS) - if the number is 0, you don’t have any remaining need to allow an increased FWS award. In that case, if you have a sub loan that you did not accept, you can swap out sub eligibility for FWS … IF the school has more FWS they can award. If you don’t have any “need,” however, there is no point in asking.
If you do have some remaining need, you can ask to talk with a manager in the aid office. It is possible that they might have some FWS freed up … it’s worth asking.
If you don’t have need, or if there is no more FWS to be had, talk to your supervisor. It’s still possible they may want to keep you.
My CoA is $58,503, and my financial award total (including federal loans, grants ,work study, etc) is $40,110. That’s a difference of over $18,000. I’d say that constitutes financial need lol.
EDIT: My EFC was $291. So the difference is still over 18k
Clearly, your college doesn’t meet full need based on the fafsa. The work study award you got is likely all you will receive this year. This is a limited funding amount,.meaning that each college has only so many dollars to allocate to its students per year.
I would suggest you look for an additional job…maybe the cafeteria or call center at your school. These usually have openings.
And really 7.5 hours a week for a quarter is that amount per week except perhaps during midterms and finals, when many folks don’t do their work study jobs anyway.
It sounds like you need more money…and if that is the case, get a job that is NOT a work study job.
You can ask. There are two parts to it. First, do they have any WS money left. They might if other students didn’t use all the funds allotted to them or left school. The second part is if you have any room left in the amount of financial aid you are allowed to receive. When the school adds up all the aid you’ve received, it has to be under you COA-EFC.
I’ll go talk to them when school resumes on monday. If they simply will not have any additional funding left to give me, then Idk. I’m supposed to go on the paid internship cycle at Drexel at the end of march/beginning of april, which makes finding an off campus job rather hard. I’ll have to see if I can get some sort of thing at Drexel that’s paid regularly.
Another thing you can do if they won’t authorize more money is ask if you can earn winter and spring quarter’s money in the winter since you’ll be going on co-op in the spring.
The Perkins loan is also need based aid as far as I know and a form of subsidized loan.
There might be other jobs on campus. See if there are events going on where they need some student helpers for a few hours, check in your major department.
If Op was eligible for a Perkins loan and the school had enough $ to fund it, he would have received it in his initial financial aid package.
Remember that work study funds are subsidized by the federal government. So if a job is paying you $10/hr, the government is probably kicking in $7 of those $10.
The issue is not getting additional work study. The issue is with a $291 EFC, how is student and family going to pay the $18k unmet need? additional work study funds is not going to fill the gap. Op may be financially over his/her head.
If OP has an unpaid balance, s/he may not be able to do co-op next term especially if there is a maintenance of matriculation fee due to the school.
18k unmet need is the number I come up with when I use the 22k annual room and board fee prescribed by the school. However, I’m living off campus splitting a room with my GF so I need much much less. For now I have savings that are slowly dwindling, so for my second year I may need to take out a small private loan to cover whatever the difference is. I’m unsure right now, it will really depend on what I make during my co-op because I’m only going to do a paid one.
This poster has had a long and interesting route to this school and financial aid. In this thread all he asked about was increasing the FWS amount so that’s what the advice has been aimed at. He can ask if there are additional funds (if he has room in his award package), or he can ask if he can use the amount in winter and spring in the winter quarter since he will be in co-op in the spring…
I say use up the FWS already awarded and then ask for more or get a job outside of work study.
I’m not worried about having to drop out due to lack of funds. Discover/Sallie Mae will approve anybody with a heartbeat for a loan if necessary, and I think my parents would be able to loan me money at no interest if needed!
@twoinanddone I think I’m going to do that. I can just max out my hours for the beginning of the winter quarter and then ask for an increase, if no increase I can try to get a temp job somewhere on campus.