<p>Three quick questions please...</p>
<p>If a financial aid package includes work study, when does the student need to begin the search for this work opportunity and does the college assist with this?</p>
<p>What if the student cannot or does not make the amount of money indicated on the financial award? Example: The financial aid award states that the student will earn $2,000 yet the student -- for whatever reasons -- only make $750. What happens then?</p>
<p>And if it is listed as "Federal Work Study Opportunity," does this basically mean simply a work study; i.e. student works on campus? Thanks very much for any input.</p>
<p>The assistance in finding a job varies by school. At some schools, they are easy to get … at others, very hard to come by. If the money isn’t earned, it isn’t earned. Schools generally overaward work study funding, knowing that not all students will actually use what is awarded to them. </p>
<p>At some campuses, there are some very cool FWS jobs … like tutoring low income kids. </p>
<p>The award states “opportunity” because it is just that (as opposed to a guarantee).</p>
<p>FWS is money paid directly to the student to cover incidentals. The student can earn up to this amount for the school year. In my experience, colleges usually have a central place for FWS job postings. At my school, some FWS jobs are hiring upperclassmen now. Other jobs will be posted come fall. There are no guarantees that a student will get a job. FWS jobs can be on campus, or off campus with a non profit.</p>
<p>At my D’s school, there is an online portal for all things job related - internships, WS, interview opps, and even off campus jobs are listed there. Career Services maintains it and there’s also a board with postings outside their offices. Students can also approach departments/offices where they’d like to work directly. It is strongly recommended that freshmen try to get their work study arranged in the first few days on campus, although jobs do open up throughout the year.</p>
<p>Yes my son’s college has a portal and also jobs are posted through the career services office. One year he was unable to find a job and the office helped him locate a position with a community organization in the town. The student fills out the general “new employment forms” much like in the private sector. Make sure the student brings their social security card with them for ID puposes as well as their driver’s license or some sort of photo ID. This will be needed for I-9 documentation. Depending on the particular college/unis pay schedule they will receive their first check several weeks after beginning the job (and most colleges/unis have their pay schedules posted somewhere on their student portal or website.) If the college has direct deposit for their employees, the student can also participate in direct deposit, or receive a live paper check. The available work/study dollars will be available for the school year cycle and any dollars not utilized in general do not “roll over” to the next year. The new available dollars for the student will be indicated in the finaid paperwork each year.</p>
<p>What if the student cannot or does not make the amount of money indicated on the financial award? Example: The financial aid award states that the student will earn $2,000 yet the student – for whatever reasons – only make $750. What happens then?</p>
<p>then the child is short of money. WS earnings is often used by a student for “daily expenses” or purchasing second semester books. So, if the child doesn’t earn the money, the parent usually has to make up the shortfall.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback. Please bear with me as I know I’m missing some important points about this…</p>
<p>If work/study is factored into the financial aid package, how does this <em>number</em> factor into (or does it not) the bills that come from the university for tuition payment? This is new for us so I thought that if a student works on campus as part of a work/study, the money automatically goes into a “student account” against which the work/study dollars are then reimbursed to the college for giving/loaning the money to the student in the first place.</p>
<p>Clearly I am completely incorrect. So, and again bear with me as math is not my strength…</p>
<p>If the difference between the COA and the financial aid package is, let’s say, $6,000 and $2,000 is factored into this amount, when the initial bill for 1/2 of the tuition not covered by the rest of the financial aid package arrives, do we pay $3,000 twice (once in the summer and again early winter)? Then, if the student does make the $2,000 this is the student’s money to do with as he/she pleases vs. being applied to the total tuition cost?</p>
<p>Given that we need to make decisions today on what to accept or decline, any information to help clarify what I clearly do not understand would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>It depends on the college. Most schools will pay the work study money directly to the student as a paycheck. In that case, the $2000 work study money does NOT come off the tuition, fees, room& board bill. So with your numbers, the annual billing expense would be $6000+$2000 = $8000 per year and $4000 per semester. Many colleges do offer ways of splitting the tuition, fees, room and board bills up into more frequent, but less hefty payments.</p>
<p>There are a few colleges (my son’s is one) that allow the student to choose to have the work study directly applied to his/her bursar’s account. In that case, the college will adjust the monthly, quarterly, or semester payments to reflect the work study being applied directly to the account.</p>
<p>If the college(s) in question haven’t told you how the student will be paid, you should call and ask.</p>
<p>^^True. Cost of Attendance as reflected in your financial aid statement contains things (like transportation, books, spending money) that you are not directly billed. You will be billed for that semester, quarter whatever the tuition, fees, room, meal plan etc.for that period and reflected on that bill will be the amounts the college has received from loan payouts, outside scholarships etc. and typically the “bill” will also reflect any grants, school scholarships again generally broken down by that period. The “number” at the bottom is what needs to be paid. Many colleges offer payment plans so the payments can be spread over several smaller payments. Unless there is a unique circumstance the student will need to purchase the books, cover their transportation etc., with a check or debit card, cash etc. There may be a fee or cost added to facilitate a payment plan so yes, pianomom your student will be sent a bill for the difference for that semester, quarter,period, etc. for direct costs but not necessarily everything reflected in COA. You would need to check and see if W/S can be applied directly to the bill or not. The other thing you might not see is if any payments have not “hit” the college at the point the invoices are run. For example, if the checks have not been sent to the college for outside scholarships, if the loans haven’t been applied etc. So you need to check the bill carefully against what you are expecting.</p>