<p>I've been running a few of the net price calculators for various colleges that I've applied to and all of the packages include some form of work study, generally totaling a couple thousand dollars a year. Can I just pay this amount out of pocket or is it required as an official part of the package?</p>
<p>If you can afford it, you can certainly pay it out of pocket, and skip the work study. Like loans, work study is an optional part of your package.</p>
<p>I would caution, that in some schools, if the student declines work study the first year, they may be closed out for all years. Also, in some schools, the work study jobs are the best jobs on campus (more related to majors, easier) – very frustrating for non w/s kids.</p>
<p>Yes, you can turn it down. Or just not use it. I know kids who went to the schools and could not find work study jobs that fit their schedules. It all depends upon the college how it works, and I would recommend that if you should get hours in your package that you hold onto them until you get to the college and see if it is a viable opton for you. As Kayf says, some schools may close you out from that option for the rest of your time there if you decline, some have the best jobs available and are not something you may want to decline, some have little or nothing left by the time the freshmen arrive, some have jobs already waiting. It varies from school to school as to how it works.</p>
<p>My niece got a small work study award and couldn’t find anything her first semester. Being an intrepid young woman and truly counting on the funds, she found a job on her own that was non workstudy for more hours and pay than what was offered by the school. But she never formally revoked the award, It just lay fallow as she couldn’t and didn’t find anything to use it. </p>
<p>Then second semester, just purely by chance, she found a work study job opening at a perfect location with perfect hours, in a nice academic office related to some of her interests Because there were so few hours in the position, it had not been snapped up and she missed it when looking at the offering, or it was posted later. She took it , loved it and is now working not only work study there, but getting private hours in addition as they also like her so very much. She’s a junior now and may get some job opportunities from this position. She’s long dropped the fruit shakes job. So you never know how some things will work out.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that students in who work actually have higher grades than those who do not, IMO because they realize they need to focus on studying when they have time (vs letting things slide). [Study</a> Shows that Working College Students Enjoy Better Grades | Top Colleges Blog](<a href=“http://www.top-colleges.com/blog/2009/12/12/study-shows-that-working-college-students-enjoy-better-grades/]Study”>http://www.top-colleges.com/blog/2009/12/12/study-shows-that-working-college-students-enjoy-better-grades/)</p>
<p>I would never have a student turn down work study. Basically the onus is on the student to find a work study job when they arrive on campus. If they don’t locate a job they won’t receive work study monies. Work study is “precious” at many colleges with kids on waiting list to receive work study dollars. If you actually turn it down in your finaid package you might never get it again. But basically most of the jobs are the best around because they generally allow the student to work a minimal number of hours and also have flexibility around exam times, holidays etc. My kids all work - mostly in town - as they don’t always get work study awarded in their financial aid package but when they do they are very, very happy. If a student doesn’t need ANY pocket money and doesn’t think they will EVER need pocket money go ahead and have them delete it…but it’s generally not a smart move. If you don’t find a W/S job, you never trigger the dollars. But if you don’t have the dollars awarded, you’ll probably not be able to trigger work/study. In my experience college kids that couldn’t use 50-80 bucks a week are few and far between.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! I’m a first generation student so I wasn’t really sure about the pros/cons of doing it or how the process works, but it seems like a logical thing to do. Just out of curiosity, is the work study automatically applied to tuition and fees or is it indeed “pocket money” that can be used for anything?</p>
<p>You have to pay for tuition & fees up front before the beginning of each semester. Then you will receive a check or direct deposit for your WS hours every month or whatever the pay period is at your school. </p>
<p>So if you don’t work enough hours to make your entire WS allotment, then you have essentially left money on the table.</p>
<p>In most colleges and unis it is not automatically applied to your bill, it is an actual paycheck with which you can do as you like. You might be able to walk over to the burser’s office and use it against your bill, but you can also cash it for supplies, food, anything you like. But remember, you will have to find the job. Sometimes colleges post the work/study jobs on line and you can look for one before you arrive on campus, but generally it’s easier to find one when you arrive on campus. Many college and unis have a payment plan where you pay a portion of the entire cost each month with a smallish fee added on so be sure to read all the information that comes from the college. But again, I would not turn it down as you have no idea what type of job you might locate and you might find something that works great with your schedule and you won’t know that right now.</p>