If you qualify for need-based financial aid, part of your aid award may include work study—a paid job, usually on campus, to help you pay for college. Here are three reasons you should probably accept that portion of the award offer.
1. Work study is guaranteed work. You won’t have to look for a job once you get to campus.
2. The money you earn through work study will not count against you when you apply for financial aid the following year. For jobs outside of work study, the financial aid formula assesses student income at a whopping 50% once you earn more than $3,000. That can make a huge difference for a student hoping to work to help pay for college.
3. The right work study job can be great work experience. Some work study assignments are pretty menial, like scanning ID’s at the cafeteria. But you might also end up working in the athletic department, or helping a professor on a research project, or even working in the admissions office like one of our counselors did with her work study job in college. Don’t just cross your fingers and hope for a good assignment. Call the college’s office that handles work study and ask for information on the types of jobs that are available. Look into options that seem interesting and ask if you can be assigned to one of them. Don’t be pushy—just show a little gumption and it might pay off in more ways than one.