<p>I will be a college freshman next year...and i have a very low EFC....low enough to get $3600 in Pell Grant for 06-07 school year</p>
<p>now, i want to get a job this summer to earn around 2,000$......how will this effect my EFC and pell grant.....i know that if i save the $2,000 it will be counted as a cash asset and FAFSA will add 35% of that....but what if i use it all on school?</p>
<p>You will be fine for this year. Any money you earn over 2650 will be assessed to your EFC by 25%.</p>
<p>For example if you earn 3650 </p>
<p>3650-2650= 1000
1000*.25= $250</p>
<p>your EFC would go up by 250</p>
<p>You will probably end up spending the money to get you started in college- books, setting up your room , etc because even if you have workstudy, it takes a few weeks until you are paid</p>
<p>it will have no effect on this year's EFC -- that is already filed and determined.</p>
<p>if you work earn less than $2650, it will not be assessed. If you save it and then spend it on college costs before you file FAFSA (next January) it will not be an asset, so it will not be assessed.</p>
<p>Also -- did you get a work-study award in your FA package? I have been told that money earned in work-study is exempt from the assessment by FAFSA, so that would be good to have, too.</p>
<p>sybbie--i thought anything over 2650 was assessed by 50%? i could totally be wrong</p>
<p>hsmomstef is right. Work study money does not count against you when filing the FAFSA.</p>
<p>IFyou had the money sitting in the bank, it would be assessed at 35%.</p>
<p>just deposit the money in an offshore bank ;)</p>
<p>wait, sybbie719, 35%?</p>
<p>so if i had 20k sitting in a bank, my EFC would be 7,000?</p>
<p>Yes, on top of what every your Parents EFC is.</p>
<p>um, when u do work study, you don't really get the money physically right? it all goes towards ur tuition and books</p>
<p>NO...when you do work study, you get a check issued to YOU....just like any other job. The source of the money is what is different. For federal work study, the monies are federal monies. For institutional work study, the money is the college's money. But where that money goes is the student's decision. Our DD has a $2500 work study award for her freshman year. This means she will have some earnings from a job during school. Her SUMMER earnings will go towards her college expenses. My guess is that by the time she files the FAFSA next spring, there won't be a nickel in any of her accounts (well...maybe a nickel..but certainly not a lot). Her assets will be non-existent by the time she files the FAFSA.</p>