Do students need to qualify for need based aid in order to apply for work study, or is it just an opportunity to work on campus that is available to any student who is hired?
Thanks!
Students must qualify for government funded work-study programs.
Thank you! That’s what I thought I remembered from my college days, but I wanted to double check.
work-study income isn’t taxed - so that’s one benefit. some schools only have jobs available for kids on work-study, so that’s another.
woah - i mean that the income isn’t figured into the fafsa as earnings for the student (it gets excluded). it’s still taxed. sorry about that.
Work-study income is subject to income tax, but not payroll (FICA) taxes, so that’s another benefit.
Qualifying for work study is a little easier than qualifying for Pell grants or SEOG, so if you are interested do apply…
Thanks for all the responses. Our son is just a high school freshman but I was curious about some of the different options available. If it is need based, then I think that’s out.
But, there are usually many other jobs available on campus besides federally funded WS jobs. And many jobs in the surrounding community if he wants one. My son got a job as a receptionist working for the college dept which had his major. It was not a federally funded work study job, but they still referred to it as WS.
The FA dept at my university said I qualify for State Work Study and they did not have enough awards left for the Federal Work Study. What is the difference between the two? I will have to pay Federal taxes on money I have earned?
Yes, most likely.
You’d have to pay taxes on federal work study, as well.
Early bird catches the worm on most campuses. DON’T have your kid wait until October to discover that s/he needs a job. Typically the best on campus jobs (flexible during exams? you can study or read during slow periods?) go quickly.