<p>I think it is very good because the state school is awarding OP the “state university grant” of $5,472. I thought all CA state schools are hurting for money.</p>
<p>I believe that my parents want me to be solely dedicated on school work, so I don’t think I will do work study. (I did not choose that option before)</p>
<p>So the actual COA is perhaps lower than $24,223 since things such as transportation won’t apply to me?</p>
<p>Fwiw, studies show that those who work 8-10 hours (or 8-12, somewhere around there) do better than those without jobs. </p>
<p>Anyway, if they don’t want you to work, do they plan on contributing or taking out loans? Because that is the only way to even meet your direct fees let alone others like books, supplies, etc.</p>
<p>I do NOT think that you should decline the WS. IF you do, and you need it later, you won’t get it.</p>
<p>You don’t have to work/earn all $5k.</p>
<p>Unless your parents are going to PAY that $5k, their opinion is meaningless. It doesn’t look like they’re contributing at all, so what they say doesn’t really matter. They can’t tell you not to work to fill in the gaps, but then not give you the money. </p>
<p>You can “concentrate on your studies” and still work a bit…many, many students do.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s best to accept work-study. As was posted, you don’t HAVE to take a job or work all the hours to get up to $5K, but it’s a good thing to have in case there is something that appeals to you. Many, many, many interesting and decently paying jobs on campus are for work study ONLY, so that is a good thing to keep in mind. Our D worked at a job for 3 semesters that she enjoyed very much. She had to be let go because they could only afford to hire work study and she didn’t have work study. All the other workers were work study.</p>
<p>I recently found out that I will only receive about $11k / $24k for my financial aid. How should I borrow the rest from? I</p>
<p>As you can see, your aid pkg already includes full Stafford Direct loans. It also includes a Plus loan for your parents (are they going to accept that?)</p>
<p>I find it VERY ODD that you’re considering taking MORE LOANS instead of doing some of the work study. Are your parents expecting you to drown yourself in debt just because they don’t want you to work a little bit during college?</p>
<p>How much can you earn over the summer???</p>
<p>My parents would prefer that I focus mainly on my studies and not tire myself out working.</p>
<p>They believe that the interest rates are way too high and it would take a long time to pay them off. I don’t believe that they will be accepted for the direct plus loans because they filed for bankruptcy about a year ago. I think we are going to just get the subsidized stafford loan if possible and borrow the rest from relatives. They really hadn’t anticipated that the interest rates would be this high.</p>
<p>My parents would prefer that I focus mainly on my studies and not tire myself out working.</p>
<p>Have your parents been to college? You won’t “tire yourself out” working a little bit while in college.</p>
<p>And what about the summers? Can’t you work then? </p>
<p>You’re right, your parents won’t qualify for the Plus Loans with a bankruptcy last year.</p>
<p>borrow the rest from relatives</p>
<p>Will your relatives do this for four straight years knowing your parents declared bankruptcy?</p>
<p>The package does not include a PLUS loan. The package is very unclearly suggesting that the parents APPLY for PLUS to come up with that amount of money to make things work out financially. One parent will have to apply, and qualify. If there are any late payments (over 90 days) on the credit report, or some other issues such as bankruptcies, the parent will be denied. If that is the case, the student will be eligible for an additional $4K in Direct Student loans. </p>
<p>If you and your parents do not want you to work during the school year, you had better come up with an idea for the $5K that the school is suggesting you fund with work study. Be aware that many schools, even the most generous ones with no loan policies are throwing WS into the packages.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you and your parents got your idea of what college life is like, but students attending college in the US have plenty of time to study hard, work 10 hours a week AND have a decent social life without tiring themselves out. There’s no way you will be spending all your time on academics. So unless you have some kind of debilitating illness, it’s ridiculous to choose debt over work study.</p>
<p>My DD had a double major, two rigorous courses of study. She worked between 8-15 hours a,week depending on the week. She had NO trouble finding time for her studies, her job, and her social life. She also worked full time in the summers.</p>
<p>Ditto my son.</p>
<p>I agree, you can attend college AND work a part time job with no difficulty. And you can definitely work during the summers.</p>
<p>OP, you can’t handle working about two hours a day a few days a week for some spending money, doing something like sitting at the desk checking out library books, or washing dishes or filing paperwork in an office? If that will really tire you out and hurt your academic performance, maybe you’d better re-think your ability to handle college in general. Sorry, but you are getting generous financial aid help from working people. I would think it wouldn’t hurt you to work a bit to help yourself in the process.</p>
<p>It’s up to the parents and student whether or not WS should be in the picture or not $5K is an awful lot, I agree, for a freshman. But if the student isn’t going to take it, there will be others who will, and the family and student are going to have to come up with the money. The school isn’t going to replace that award with a pure grant, you know. So maybe work extra over the summer and take out more of a loan, if the family cannot come up with it, and it is so important that you don’t work.</p>