<p>do colleges expect me to use the money i earned from work for college? is there a certain level (i.e. $2500) where colleges expect you to pay dollar-for-dollar for your education?</p>
<p>More than likely, a student doesn't earn enough money to be expected to pay very much...if anything on their college tuition. It is mainly based on the information gathered from the FAFSA, the PROFILE, scholarships, etc. The money a student makes from a part time or Summer job is merely a fraction of his or her parents' income. However, if the student has lots of assets and things of that nature, they will be taken into account. Many schools may do it differently because some schools give more aid than others, and this would cause a student to have to use his or her money toward his or her tuition. The main components of a financial aid decision are parents' income, parents' assets, students' assets, businesses ownership, and all the big financial contributors like those listed.</p>
<p>The money you earn and save over the summer to fulfill your student contribution yes, does go toward helping to pay for your college. Remember when you get on campus, you must purchase those incidental things (such as books that can run you a few hundred dollars). Depending on how your FA is set up, you may end up using some of that student contribution to help pay for your education.</p>
<p>D contributed $3000 of her summer earnings toward her tuition for this year (but she also wants to graduate debt free so she doesn't mind helping to make the sacrifices). She also has a few thousand saved to carry her through when she gets on campus to take care of her books (about $1,500 last year -lots of science book, took an english class which they read 25 books).</p>