Hi guys, in my financial aid package from a college, they said I’d be expected to pay 3000 out of the federal work study to cover financial need. I’ve never worked before so I apologize if it sounds weird but, is that a lot to pay? How much does the average student get paid by work study, so I can know if that 3000 is too much or is okay?
Thanks!
Using simple math if you work about 12 hours per week for 15 weeks in each of 2 semesters and earn $8.25 per hour, you earn about $3000.
I see , so that’d be pretty much all of it. Alrighty, thanks!
Well, in reality you can pay the $3000 any way you wish…you should easily be able to earn that during the summer weeks. You will need your work study earnings for the small things you want at college ~ pizza, movie tickets, toiletries, etc.
NEPats…some kids need their work study monies to help fund billable costs to the university…and for books and other essential supplies for their classes.
All students aren’t lucky enough to have work study only for discretionary spending.
@thumper1, That’s a really good point. So a student could save up the money as they earned it for unexpected class related expenses for the current semester and to help cover books and other supplies for the following semester? I never thought about that before. All I ever see are posts saying WS is to cover current discretionary expenses. Could OP save it to use for tuition too or would it be counted as income and cause a decrease in his/her aid next year?
@madison85 that math is simple, but what about taxes?
You do not pay taxes on work study. $9 an hour is $9 an hour. And it doesn’t count against you for next year’s financial aid.
Also, you get a regular paycheck, it is not paid to the school. Though some schools give you that option. It’s up to you how you spend it.
And just because you are eligible for WS, it’s not automatic you get that many hours. It may take you a couple weeks to find a job when school starts, and you may not work during finals etc.
But all in all, it’s a great deal and makes it much easier to find a job on campus.
Work study money is income for tax purposes, but on the FAFSA, there is also a line item where you indicate how much of your income was earned through work study. That amount is not used to calculate your need based aid for the following year.
Yes, if you work enough you pay federal and state income tax on work study. You don’t pay payroll taxes, SS and medicare, though. Most students can claim exempt from withholding or don’t make enough that anything is withheld, though that depends on how much other income there is from summer jobs etc.
@maggpie @annoyingdad I’m confused. If OP were to work exactly enough to make 3000, would it be taxed at all?
Just to be clear, @Maggpie, this is flat out WRONG.
@tlf123098 - Whether or not a student owes taxes on any earnings (work study or otherwise) depends on the student’s total earned income, and whether it’s above or below the IRS income threshold for filing. See [url=https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901490-do-i-need-to-file-a-2014-tax-return-with-the-irs]here[/url] or [url=http://www.irs.gov/uac/Do-I-Need-to-File-a-Tax-Return%3F]here[/url].
@Maggpie may have been referring to the 7.65% employment taxes, I wouldn’t necessarily it flat out wrong. I would say ‘it depends’.
Another thing to consider is your schedule.
If the work study job you want, conflicts with your schedule, and the jobs vary in hours, you may get stuck.
My dd’s dorm mate picked an intense class schedule with lots of labs, so she couldn’t work a consistent number of hours during the day or early evening. She ended up taking the late dinner shift clean-up at the commons, and would get back to her dorm at 2 am, exhausted.
Just keep in mind that you are “eligible” to earn up to 3000 dollars on work study. There will be jobs at your school reserved for work study students but not necessarily enough jobs nor jobs with enough hours to earn the full 3000. If you are counting on this money, start looking for campus jobs on the website over summer… you may need more than one to make the full amount.
How much the average work study student makes is relative to the school. At my D’s school, 1500 is the general work study award. My D has 2 jobs… one is work study, the other is not. She pulled in about 1200 this year and with summer earnings, it been enough to pay for books, supplies, living expenses and put a chunk towards her modest student loan.
3000 is a lot in terms of work study, IMHO.
What may be confusing is that money you earn that IS NOT through a work study job, but outside work, WILL be counted as student earnings for FAFSA.
Work study income on the other hand, is considered self help financial aid and so won’t be counted on FAFSA.
Both are taxable.
To determine if $3,000 in work study is going to require too many hours of work, you need to find out what the pay scale is at your school. It can vary dramatically from one school to another.
12 hours/week should be easily manageable. Much more than that could be difficult, but it also depends on what kinds of jobs are available to you. Some jobs (e.g. washing dishes) are demanding. Others (e.g. monitoring the front desk at the campus rec center) are easy, and you could spend much of your time doing homework, which means that adding in a few more hours/week wouldn’t really be a problem. So you may also want to find out how they assign jobs at your school.
I’m not sure you guys are answering the actual question:
“Hi guys, in my financial aid package from a college, they said I’d be expected to pay 3000 out of the federal work study to cover financial need”
Where did you get the idea you would have to pay the $3000 “out of” work study? It is often two separate things. A student contribution as part of the amount you owe to the college AND a work study award. It is likely that you will have pay the $3000 as part of paying your tuition for the semester so you can register/remain in classes (separate from the work study). THEN you can look for and find a work study job if one is available and will receive up to $3000 in work study funds if you receive a job and work that many hours.
Perhaps I’m misunderstanding, @zoosermom, but looking to the entirety of the opening post, the OP appears to be asking whether a $3,000 work study obligation is too much. I thinking you’re reading things into the question that just aren’t there.
He asks if 3000 is too much to pay, not too much to earn.