<p>Is a work study supposed to help pay your student contribution off?</p>
<p>I don’t remember seeing a “student contribution” in my finaid package. However, “summer contribution” is the part of your EFC that they expect you to earn this summer. Work Study is what can earn throughout the school year through work study jobs–and your maximum allotment is what is added to your EFC.</p>
<p>re OP: I don’t think so. Work study is generally intended as spending money for the students to cover discretionary expenses in the budget such as books or travel. However, if you want to use it towards tuition, you can do that too.</p>
<p>If I choose to do something productive over the summer such as participate in Duke Engage, or take summer classes at Duke, will my summer contribution be waived or do I still have to find a way to earn it?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s waived.</p>
<p>Oh, I think for “student contribution,” they take a look at your (the student’s) assets (bank account) and they add a certain % (30?) of it to the EFC. That is, they expect you to spend 30% of your assets towards that school year.</p>