<p>I was awarded about $2,500 in work study and that seems like a significant amount of money to work off during the school year. If I accept the work study, am I forced to work the amount that the work study is for or could I pay for the remaining amount of money if I am not able to work that much? If I reject the work study award, would my expected contribution towards the cost of Columbia increase by $2,500?</p>
<p>1) You get a bill from Columbia. It includes the full price of tuition/fees minus any loans and grants. Work study has nothing to do with this bill. You pay the bill.</p>
<p>2) Work study gives you the "right" to get a work study job on campus and make up to that much. You don't have to get a job at all.</p>
<p>3) If you do get a job, you can work as much or as little as you want. Whatever you make, you get a paycheck and it goes in your bank account. It doesn't go to Columbia.</p>
<p>I think that's the way it works for most schools.</p>
<p>keep in mind that almost all work study jobs here hire at $10.00/hr so 250 hours total, 125 a semester, ~70 hr/month, ~17hr/wk, >3hr/day. (or 2m,2,w8 f)</p>
<p>really thats not bad at all considering class is, at most, 3-6 hr/day with a high chance of getting a 6 or 7pm class. you'll always have free time and you may as well make money from it instead of wasting it</p>
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~17hr/wk [...] really thats not bad at all
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<p>really?? do you work 17 hrs a week? ....freshman year first semester i worked 16 hours a week at a desk job in dining services....it took ALOT out of me...i would def not suggest it....clearly never did it again...i cut my work hours significantly over the years but have always had a part time job throughout college.</p>
<p>for my working patterns, it worked perfectly for me.</p>
<p>i never do work/study unless its dark out so i tend to waste my days anyways if im not in class. having a job for 4.5hr monday, 4.5 wed, and 9-5 on friday worked perfectly since it kept me always doing something instead of sitting around wasting time</p>
<p>Am I missing something here or has my old brain finally died - How does 125 hours a semester work out at 70 hours a month? Someones calculations are a little off here unless both math and school have changes in the many years since I was at school. Most schools have a semester 3 1/2 to 4 month. So even a very conservative estimate of a 3 month semester with a flat 4 weeks in each month would make the hours around 10 a week (at the $10 an hour rate).</p>
<p>2500/10 = 250 hours. 250/2 = 125 per semester. 125/12 = 10.42 hours a week.</p>
<p>Another question: If we were able to get a part-time job somewhere in NYC which pays more than this work study thing, can we stop this program and pay the 2500 out of our earnings?</p>
<p>You don't have to do work study even if it is offered to you. Its main benefit is that it does not count against you in the financial aid calculation for the next year. (on FAFSA you show it as income then it is subtracted on one of the schedules - don't know about profile). If financial aid is an important issue that is something to take into consideration as any student earnings over @ $3000 are penalised @ 50% for calculating the EFC. So earnings of $2500 under federal work study would not increase your EFC - the same earnings not under work study could increase your EFC by 1250 (again on FAFSA).</p>
<p>hey you already got your financial aid? This is weird I got accepted but haven't received any info on financial aid ( i applied and my account said that everything needed has been received ). But I've yet to receive my formal admission offer in the postal mail so I'm assuming it will contain that info or am I wrong?</p>
<p>Where do you live? I live in Europe and I got it today. In fact, they are the DHL packages are suppossed to arrive at any place within 2 business days. But yes, the package will contain your finaid offer. </p>
<p>swimcatsmom, thank you very much for your explanation. I'm an international student, so I had to deal with completely different finaid forms and didn't have a clue about EFC.</p>
<p>You are welcome Pearfire. But if you are an international student (not a US citizen) your work study is probably not the federally funded work-study I was talking about (I don't think international students are eligible for federal funds). If that is the case and you have work study in your financial aid package it is probably an institutional work study (by your school). I have no idea how that affects your financial aid calculation for subsequent years so please check with your school. Good luck.</p>
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Another question: If we were able to get a part-time job somewhere in NYC which pays more than this work study thing, can we stop this program and pay the 2500 out of our earnings?
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<p>You (or your parents) pay the $2500 to Columbia at the beginning of the semester regardless of whether you have a work study job or not. If you have a work-study job, you get a paycheck that you deposit in your bank account. If you have an off-campus job, the same is true.</p>
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Its main benefit is that it does not count against you in the financial aid calculation for the next year.
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<p>It's also not considered taxable W-2 income, right? If you have a high-paying summer job, you could save quite a bit on taxes.</p>
<p>Sorry but it is taxable</p>
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Work-study earnings are wages. You should include these with your earnings from any other job in determining if you are required to file a tax return for the year. You will be sent a Form W-2 from the University at the end of January each year detailing your wages. If you file a tax return, you should include a copy of the Form W-2 with your return. Contact the Internal Revenue Service if you have questions.
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<p>pearfire I live in Pakistan and I only found out I got into Columbia today..</p>
<p>I wonder if they changed the law since 2001 or 2002? I recall W/S wages being exempt / excludable.</p>
<p>Must have, because this is what it says in my finaid booklet. Any idea whether freshmen can get part-time jobs which pay better than work-study programs?</p>
<p>yea, work study is taxable.</p>
<p>Making $10 an hr is a pretty good deal for a freshman</p>
<p>You are not allowed to get a work study job off campus as a freshman</p>
<p>The benefit of work study to the employer is that they get to split ur wages (60-40 i think) with the government...so if you make 10 bucks an hr at ur work study job it is only costing your employer $4 an hour...thats mainly y u can find really stupid jobs where you can just sit and do nothing all day under work study cause they'r paying u very very little. Also, keep in mind that the cap on work study wages is $12 an hour.</p>
<p>Does this 60-40 thing extend to international students as well? The government doesn't contribute to our finaid packages, so I guess they wouldn't pay us for work study either?</p>
<p>i think columbia would contribute the government's portion from grant money....clearly it is more economical for them than giving it to you as a grant</p>