On my d financial aid package she initially received the max student loan; $3500 in unsubsidized .$2000 in unsubsidized loans and $2500 in work study. Since she got her initial fin. aid package she has received some scholarships. She received a $1000 from the university she’s attending and her work study was dereased by that amount. First of all neither of us don’t like the idea of work study being taken away since WS is, for many reasons other than money, are very beneficial. My d has received two other scholarship, so far, totally $1750 that haven’t been gone to the school, yet. I believe her financial aid will be decreased by that much when the school gets the scholarships.
I believe that loans can be decreased before work study, if she asks for it that way.
My question: which is better to have decreased the loans or work study.
My gut tells me you want a reduction in the unsubsidized loan first. Those are accruing interest while she’s in school, right? In general, I just don’t want loans, so I would ask to decrease loans first.
If the choice is subsidizes or work study, which is best to have decreased first.
It depends on your perspective.
Remember…work study is an amount. The student must find a job and work the hours to earn that money. Some students can’t work enough hours for their work study allotments.
The subsidized loan amount is guaranteed.
That’s true. I did some figuring on how many hours she would get at about minimum wage divided by the total work study offered. I don’t know what the rate of pay for most jobs are. But at minimum wage she would get a little over 300 hours. I was looking at the fact the student does not have to report it as earinings in next years FAFSA, FICA is not taken out, not to mention the benefits of getting good recommendations from her boss.
Can a student apply for a job on campus when all work study jobs open up if they don’t have work study or do they have to wait until all work study job hours are filled first.
It depends on how many positions are available at her college (or nearby.) At my student’s school there were many jobs so they were freely available. She got a grant one year to cover the w/s but decided to work the 2nd semester to get a little money and she was an interesting position assisting a prof. There is nothing to stop a student from taking an open job that is not designated strictly w/s. It doesn’t affect aid unless earnings are over 6,300.
Some jobs are funded ONLY with work study funds. If your student does not have a work study award, they cannot take a job that is funded solely with WS funds.
But on most college campuses, there are also jobs that are funded with university funds…not WS monies.
My kid worked in the student call center…not WS. And also could have worked in the dining hall.
I’m afraid how the outside scholarship will be applied my not be up to you. We found ourselves in a similar situation with our need based aid. Student was awarded a grant, work study, and loan. Then when outside scholarship was awarded it went toward work study first, then loan BUT ONLY IN YEAR ONE. In subsequent years the outside scholarship decreases the grant dollar for dollar. I appealed to the school and they were very polite when they declined my request.
It may to some degree depend on the school but I believe applying outside scholarships this way when you have been awarded need based aid is fairly common.
I finally got to talk to financial advisor. Since work study has so many benefits, besides a paycheck, it is really important to my daughter to keep what WS was originally awarded before d got some scholarships. My d got to keep WS but her subsidized was decreased and unsub increased. I was hoping the college would decrease unsu first, and leave the rest alone. Oh well,. Just glad she got her full WS.
The unsubsidized loans are not part of the need based financial aid; everyone is entitled to unsubsidized loans whether there is need or not. Since she got outside scholarships, her need was reduced so one of the need based forms of aid had to be offset.
This is correct. FWS and sub loans are need-based. Need-based aid (any need-based grants, sub loans, and FWS) cannot exceed Cost of Attendance minus the EFC minus all aid (including scholarships) except unsub loans. In your D’s case, the scholarship put the total of all of her aid (except unsub loans) over her “Need” (COA-EFC). For that reason, need-based aid had to be decreased. Because unsub is not need-based, it is awarded differently - the EFC does not come into play: COA-all aid=eligibility for unsub, up to the maximum annual loan eligibility for year in school ($5500 for a freshman).
Personally, if I knew my kid would need to take out a loan, I’d prefer a subsidized loan option over work study. Work study isn’t guaranteed funds. There is not promise of a position nor enough hours to make the full amount offered. You also don’t have the fund accessible for those big initial payments. With a subsidized loan, you can pick at it with extra funds and summer earnings knowing you are just paying the premium, not interest.
My D had WS last year and it was great because she pays for her own books and entertainment. However, work isn’t hard to get on her campus no matter what your status. This year a small increase in our income killed her work study but her job is safe because they hire both WS and non-WS students. For her, the subsidized loan is the most helpful.
Does your D need to take out a loan even with work study? Do you know what the work climate is on your D’s campus? Are jobs available to non-WS students? Are the positions competitive? Are there even enough jobs for the WS students that qualify? Is the school in an area that off-campus work could be an option?