<p>My daughter is a rising college senior, and for the first time her financial aid pkg. includes work study. She already has four jobs lined up for next year; two of them are only for two hours a week each (she's had one of these for two years now), one is a nine hour a week job she has had since freshman year, and one is a new position as sort of a teaching assistant/ tutor that will probably be five hours a week. </p>
<p>I'm aware that basically we have to pony up the amount of the work study ahead of time ($750 a semester), and that she earns this money back during the semester. I'm not sure if any of her current jobs would be eligible for work study funds, or if she'd have to find a new position. What are the advantages of accepting work study versus just a regular job? I seem to remember something about it isn't calculated as an asset for the following year, but she will be done with her undergrad next year. She will be attending grad school, though. Are there any tax advantages for her? Is it non- taxable income? Her taxable income last year was under the threshold required to pay taxes anyhow and she didn't file because she had no tax withheld from her checks to be refunded to her.</p>
<p>So, basically I guess my question is this: should I just pay the extra $750 a semester and have her decline the work study, or should she accept it? In either case I guess I need to pay the money upfront.</p>
<p>Work study income is taxable income just like any other earned income. It is not included in the FAFSA calculation for need based aid for the following year, however. </p>
<p>Your daughter can accept the work study award. It would be her responsibility to apply for and secure a work study job. If she finds that her other jobs are enough, then she doesn’t have to look for a WS job at all. As you noted, it IS possible that one of her current salaries can be paid with WS funds. That is worth asking. </p>
<p>In any event, you will be paying the $750 up front. That doesn’t really enter into this decision at all.</p>
<p>It is taxable but not subject to Social Security or Medicare withholdings.
It can pay higher than minimum wage.
Can be extremely flexible in regards to scheduling hours.
Not counted as an asset for FA.
As a senior, might find a job that gives her good experience.
A way to network.</p>
<p>Cons:</p>
<p>You still need to apply and get hired. There is no guarantee that she will find a work study job.
Might not get the hours needed to earn the full award.
Once she earns the award amount, she will be unable to work more hours unless her employer has non- work study funds available.</p>
<p>I would accept it and see if she can a job that works for her. If she doesn’t she can keep her original job. Just accepting the award does not mean she is forced to use it.</p>
<p>My son has a regular job on campus that could be a work-study but doesn’t have to. He will be a senior in the fall and also for the first time he was offered work-study. Should he do the job as a work study or not? </p>
<p>Getting the award merely means eligibility for a position on the work study list and the for the funds IF the student finds a job that they can manage and if they do get hired. You can’t even get that far without the award. No one forces a student to use the award. It’s just an option that is given. Student has to take the next steps to get the award, and alot of work study dollars get unused at some schools.</p>
<p>The advantage of a WS job is that any funds earned from it are not included in student assets if sitting there when the fin aid forms are filed. No Social Security is taken out of it. The earnings are not included for student income for student aid purposes. Also some departments at the college take workstudy funds and carve out some neat jobs there for students for just a few hours a week. A lot of plum jobs like that are offered to ws eligible kids first before opening to anyone else since the depts want to use up that ws money. My son is working only a few hours a week this summer and if he had had WS eligibility, he could have doubled those hours at his dept. My other son had a great job while at school, and again though he got it without WS, the WS kids were hired first since that dept wanted to use those allocated funds first. </p>
<p>I think the university will decide whether to pay him out of work study funds or not. I don’t think he will have a choice of how it’s paid. </p>
<p>FYI, it’s not just work study jobs where social security and medicare taxes are not taken out. That’s the case with student employment at a school in general. My son never had work study. He worked at a dorm desk, as an undergrad TA and as a tutor and never had SS/Medicare taken out.</p>