work study?

<p>I can't decide whether or not I should do it. I was thinking no since my mom told me not to, but my family situation right now is very shaky and I don't know that I'll be returning home for holidays or the summer which means I'd need to rent an apartment when I'm not in UCLA. So I need the money but I do want to graduate in 3 years so my courseload is pretty heavy. I don't want to do it if it'll be too difficult to manage. Any suggestions or anyone in the work study program?
Thanks</p>

<p>I am in the work-study program (or at least was my first two years.) Generally, most employers are very flexible when it comes to scheduling and might even let you set your own hours (mine did.) Anyway, it might be difficult for you if you are trying to graduate in 3 years but, I think it is possible if you find the right job -- one that has a lot of downtime so that you can study while at work. I was a clerk in ASHE and I had a lot of downtime b/c my boss didn't have a lot of stuff for me to do and when I didn't have any extra work with me to do, I even helped out in another department.</p>

<p>what is work study???
like a job designed for students that give flexible hours or something???
please explain thanks</p>

<p>although the work-study website posts a LONG list of available work-study positions, your award can be used for ANY available job (on and off campus). the way it works is that you find a job, either off the work-study list or somewhere that's willing to take you as a work-study student. the federal government will pay half of your wages -- which is why MANY employers (especially in labs and other on-campus places) LOVE work-study. and you can work up to the amount of your award. however, it is up to your employer whether you can continue working after you've earned your award.</p>

<p>about how many hours per week is it?</p>

<p>it varies with the job and also depends on how long you want to be working. my first year i was able to work my entire award during fall and winter and didn't have to work at all during the spring. whereas my second year i decided that i wanted to keep my job through spring quarter so i spread out my hours a little more. though keep in mind, you cannot work more than 20 hours/week with work-study.</p>

<p>Thanks for being so helpful cking! I think I'm going to try it, I should be able to manage <em>hopefully</em>. And it does mean a pretty big chunk out of my worry pile.</p>

<p>may i ask whats your gpa? cuz im wondering how work and study time interact with one another.</p>

<p>my current GPA is 3.2 (Biochem) but, during my first two years I had much higher GPA (3.4-3.6). <em>mutters 'stupid UD chem classes...' to herself</em></p>

<p>honestly, i didn't have any problems managing work and study time. i primarily worked a few hours during the day btwn classes and then after classes, i'd go back to my room and spend however long it took to for hwk and studying.</p>

<p>when do we apply for the work-study stuff</p>

<p>to get work-study or to get a work-study job?</p>

<p>to get work-study:</p>

<p>you had answer "yes" to the "are you willing to work during the school year?" question on the FAFSA</p>

<p>to get a work-stufy job:</p>

<p>anytime before the February deadline for workstudy.</p>

<p>there's a deadline that you have to respond by? can you still find work-study after school starts? i'm an incoming freshmen btw. i didn't know anything about a deadline.</p>

<p>Well, the deadline is feb, and you start school in sep, so you are given quite a bit of time to actually find a work study job.</p>

<p>well, not respond per se. in order to get your award, you must find a job by the deadline in february or else you won't be able to get your award. it should be on the work-study website. and yes, jobs should be available after school starts since workstudy doesn't start until October....</p>

<p>what happens if you said you are willing to work during the school year on your FASFA, but decide not to?
or just nothing?</p>

<p>Nothing. That's what I did last year. I accepted the work study because I was unsure if I could handle job + school, but I ended up not getting a job.</p>

<p>You guys can definitely juggle work study and school. I did and it was perfectly fine. If I wasn't working I was procrastinating a lot anyway, might as well go to work and get paid.</p>

<p>Hey guys. I don't really understand the difference between an on-campus work study job and a regular job off campus. I know workstudy jobs are very flexible and you only work a few hours a day (plus, the Fed. govt. pays half of your wages). HOWEVER...what if you find a regular job at some department store, for example (off campus) ... Are you allowed to find your own job or is workstudy MANDATORY ? I was also wondering if for workstudy, i understand you're working X hours per week to meet your $800 ... "fee" ... but do you get any money left over whatsoever on spending money? I don't mean books or computers, but ... "other" things like clothing, MP3 player, etc etc... Basically, is work study ONLY to pay for college or does it also provide some sort of leeway for getting a little extra spending money?</p>

<p>im interested in knowing this too</p>

<p>Another question. Lets say on your financial aid package, they expect you to pay $800 by doing workstudy. Now, what if you find some offcampus, non workstudy job and get $1000 in one month. Is that allowed? Does the university restrict how many hours a student works or does that apply ONLY to the workstudy program? To continue, if the student got $1000/month, does the financial aid in the form of free grants/scholarships go down? Since the student is working now, i figure that your free fin. aid will go down... :( true ?</p>