<p>Do outside scholarships affect UA awarded scholarships? I have the NAF scholarship, and my teacher wants me to apply for a local $5,000 scholarship. If I get this scholarship, will it affect my NAF scholarship?</p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure if this is relevant, but I also have a $4900 Pell Grant, and I qualify for work study. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>GG…You would get both. Bama won’t take your NA award away. </p>
<p>Go for it and best wishes!</p>
<p>You will STILL get Pell no matter WHAT…that’s an entitlement.</p>
<p>However, if everything adds up to more than COA (I’m not sure that it will), then work-study would go away.</p>
<p>But, you can still get a campus or off-campus job.</p>
<p>Thank you, m2ck!</p>
<p>What were people saying is the new big COA? Has anyone seen the proposed breakdown of that high COA?</p>
<p>I think it’s high enough that even with Pell and a $5k scholarship, you might still not reach the padded COA. </p>
<p>I’m not sure how Bama puts down your housing scholarship for accounting purposes. Even though it will cover honors super suites, I think they put it down as $5k or so (not $8800). If that’s the case then I think you might get to keep your work-study.</p>
<p>If I do lose my work study this time, will it affect my chances of getting work study in the future?</p>
<p>Good question. I don’t know. I know if you turn down work study, that can be a future problem.</p>
<p>What is in your FA pkg now?</p>
<p>Do you have any loans in your aid package? Those might be reduced before the work study.</p>
<p>My daughter just received a phone call saying she won a $2000 per year scholarship. Yay! I will call Monday to see how it affects her package.</p>
<p>Good point!!!</p>
<p>Grammar Girl…if you have loans and get a scholarship, ask if the scholarships can replace the loans instead!!!</p>
<p>Yankee Belle …congrats!!!</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I have the $4900 Pell Grant and work study in my FA package. I declined the loans.</p>
<p>IIRC, one can only borrow up to the cost of attendance. If you were offered over $5000 in Federal Student Loans and won a $5000 scholarship, you would still be eligible for Work Study as your aid does not yet meet or exceed the estimated cost of attendance (COA).</p>
<p>If you win enough scholarships where you are not eligible for Work Study, you should still be eligible for future years as your financial status will have changed in that you didn’t have as many one-time scholarships. I was not eligible for Work Study my first year, but have had it in subsequent years.</p>
<p>That was very helpful, SEA_tide. </p>
<p>Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having an on-campus job rather than work study? I’ve found answers online, but I would like answers specific to Bama.</p>
<p>Work Study has a set pay scale and maximum number of hours a student can work to earn all of their Work Study Award. For freshman, the award pays for 10 hours of on-campus work per week for 17 weeks. Since a semester is only 16 weeks, this means that you could work 11 hours per week on your award. Work Study also does not allow one to work during the summer, first week of class in August, and during breaks when the dorms are closed, which are Winter and Spring breaks. </p>
<p>The advantages of Work Study is that it is much easier to get a job as the individual department does not have to pay for Work Study students, that FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes are not assessed, and the money you earn does not count against you in terms of financial aid for future years. You will still have to file your own Federal and Alabama income tax returns if UA takes those taxes out of your paycheck. Sign up direct deposit so your wages are deposited directly into your bank account every other Friday. On Saturday, go to the Publix grocery store, buy something with your debit card, and withdraw whatever cash you need for free, up to a maximum of $100 cash back per transaction.</p>
<p>So, the advantage of not doing work study and instead getting an on-campus job is I can work as much as I want, job permitting (not that I would want to work more than 11 hours per week starting). On the same note, however, I’m assuming work study is more flexible with their hours because, obviously, the only people who would do it are students.</p>
<p>Another work study question: I’ve read that at many schools, work study jobs are commonly related to a student’s major, and therefore can be advantageous because of potential connections in the department of choice or with other people in the same intended field who have already established themselves. Overall, have you found this to be true amongst you and other people you know who participate in work study, SEA_tide (or anyone who has an answer)?</p>
<p>Work Study is much more flexible with ones hours as one of the conditions of the program states that school is a student’s top priority. Don’t underestimate the difficulty of getting an on-campus or off-campus job without Work Study as a lot of students are looking at the same jobs and have the same work availability as you.</p>
<p>Work Study jobs don’t have to be related to your major or interests, especially since many of them are in areas where undergraduate students rarely go, such as mail rooms and administration offices. I’ve lucked out in getting positions that are extremely relevant with my interests, but I discovered those jobs by taking to professors that I have a good rapport with. Of course, I was once offered a Work Study position in the Microbiology lab, which is nowhere near my majors, but would have been great if I was a pre-med student.</p>
<p>Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.</p>