Work-study or an outside job

How work-study works

Federal Work-Study is a need-based program the school arranges. You signal interest on the FAFSA, and if the school offers it, the award letter lists an amount you can earn during the year. You still have to find and be hired into a position, and the money arrives as a paycheck for hours worked rather than as a credit to your bill.

Jobs are on campus or with approved community service employers, and pay is at least the federal minimum wage. Supervisors tend to expect class schedules to come first, and some positions allow studying during quiet hours.

What an outside job offers

An off-campus job may pay more per hour, offer more hours and continue through summer and breaks. It may also build experience in your field, which a campus mailroom or front desk job may not.

The trade-off is flexibility. A business sets its schedule around customers rather than exam weeks, and the hours may run late into the evening.

A work-study award is a ceiling on earnings, and once you reach it the position usually ends for the year, so track your hours.

How the earnings show up later

The FAFSA uses income from two years before the award year, so the wages you earn now affect a future form. The FAFSA treats work-study pay differently from ordinary wages, so it does not weigh against later aid in the same way. Ask the aid office how your own earnings will be handled.

Work-study also bears on SNAP. Taking part in state or federal work-study is one of the exemptions to the SNAP student rule, separate from the exemption for 20 hours a week of paid work.

Holding both

Some students keep an outside job and add a few work-study hours on campus. A work-study award is a ceiling on earnings, and once you reach it the position usually ends for the year, so track your hours.

Before you decide, list the weekly hours, pay and commute for each option. A job close to your classes can be worth more than a higher wage across town.