Does anyone know how we can determine if we qualify for work-study at a school? Based on what I saw online about what the requirements are I thought I’d qualify but so far it hasn’t come up in any of the aid packages I’ve received, so I want to know if I misinterpreted what I read and if I DON’T actually qualify.
And, as a follow up, if I think I qualify but it’s not included in my financial aid, am I able to negotiate with the school on that?
Federal work study might be given out at a first come first served basis.
It also depends on need.
COA minus all scholarships and grants minus subsidized loan minus FAFSA EFC = need
Did you ask the question on the FAFSA about work study with “yes”?
When did you file your FAFSA?
Call your school financial aid office. There are often various types of Work Study at a given school. The positions funded by Federal Work Study funds can only go to those student who qualify for it through FAFSA determination. You have to have unmet need left after other awards are entered. For many schools, that Work Study amount is on the financial award that is sent to the student. THe amount given is what the school has carved out for you, given your EFC and what money they have at hand.
Bear in mind that the student almost always has to go to Fin Aid and get the job to receive those federal Work Study funds which are doled out in the form of paychecks AFTER the student is hired for one of the WS jobs, put in the hours and gets paid. It’s not a line item that appears on the school bill like the loans and grants. It can take all year to get al of the award, and if the student doesn’t get the hours of work, he isn’t going to get the money.
However, many schools also have work study funds that are not federal funds and the student may not have to be FAFSA qualified. Some jobs are open to ANY student. Each school has its own rules on that money as it is the school’s money. Some of the jobs are wrap arounds to Federal Workstudy positions.
@mommdc Thanks for your reply. I filed it in November and and did say “yes” to the work study question. I’ve only heard about aid from 3 schools so far, 2 of which are state schools that I applied to from out of state (UMD and Cal Poly SLO), and then the other is Northeastern. At UMD and Cal Poly my COA was around 12k more than my EFC, but I know they’re stingy w/ OOS students so I don’t know if that played a role? W/ Northeastern I got a large scholarship for being a National Hispanic Scholar plus a small grant, which brought me down to about 3k more than my EFC, and then I believe sub loans brought it down to about $500 less, so I guess that’s the issue.
Thanks for clarifying on how exactly eligibility is determined though. I wasn’t sure if they included scholarships + loans when determining if your COA was greater than your EFC.
@cptofthehouse That’s really good to know, thanks! MY family’s EFC is a lot higher than we can actually afford due to medical issues, job loss, and being non-homeowners in an expensive, growing city, so it’s good to know that schools may be willing to work with us on this even if we don’t look like we need a ton of aid.
A lot of colleges are located where off campus jobs may be plentiful and more lucrative. Most colleges do have jobs available to students, especially as the kids become upper classmen. All of my kids worked on campus of their various schools, from the athletic depts. to tutoring to school PR, etc etc. They did not get federal Work Study so all of those jobs were funded by the school. They also worked off campus and in some cases, such as in restaurants made more than what the schools were paying. It can vary widely. Sometimes the schools are the highest paying employers in the area and have the most jobs. That they inherently understand the issues students may have with academics and student life and the school calendar makes the college jobs a bit easier to juggle as well as the fact that they are right on campus.