<p>How do work-study programs at Columbia work? I'm a bit confused as to what I have to do to cover my FA amount</p>
<p>You apply for a work-study job and then get it. Then you get a paycheck every 2 weeks. Most of the money comes from Columbia (through whatever department is paying you) but some of it comes from the federal government. That’s it. The money doesn’t go directly toward your tuition; it goes to you. You can use it to buy books and other necessities (and use the money you would have spent on books for tuition) or you can just waste it. When Columbia is figuring out how much to award you in grants, though, they assume you’ll use the money for necessities, which means you’ll have more left over for tuition.</p>