<p>Hello everyone,</p>
<p>I was recently accepted into Rice University (yay!) and they have offered to pay EVERYTHING for me to go. My financial aid includes tuition, room & board, books, fees, personal expenses and two trips home per year (I got this from the total COA). it broke down like this
$44500 from Rice grants and $1800 from work study. Currently, the total COA for Rice is 43k so I'm assuming that it is going up but w/e. My question is so that money that I make working, is that money mine to keep and spend, or is part of that my tuition. Also, am I not allowed to make over $900 per semester?</p>
<p>Work Study earnings are paid to you in a paycheck like income from any regular job. You have to find and apply for a WS job. Most are on campus though some may be off campus, such as for non profit organizations. Jobs are varied - could be in the library, financial aid department, etc. My daughter works off campus in a govt lab.</p>
<p>If your other aid is enough to cover your tuition and room and board etc then you should be able to use the WS earnings for personal expenses (that is what my daughter does). You cannot earn more as WS than your WS award. Some employers may let you stay on as a regular employee if their budgets allow (a large % of WS - @ 60% - is payed by the govt). Some will not. WS earnings are taxable. Their main benefit is that they do not affect your EFC for the subsequent year.</p>