Work Study…Is it really working while studying?

Work study is a financial aid program that is processed based upon a student’s financial aid reward.

Work study is a program that allows a student to use a portion of their financial aid award as their wages in an on campus job.

A work study student can apply for a work study eligible job on their campus such as a job in the food service or even as a crew member setting up concerts in memorial union.

A work study student’s financial aid is set up to pay for half of a student’s wages for up to 20 hours per week of work.

For example if a student qualifies for say $3000 of work study financial for the year; the total is split between the two semesters of $1500 per semester of work study.

This number gives the meaning that a student who makes for example $8.65/hr at their job in the dining halls of campus can work up to 20 hours per week for 17 weeks of the semester without running out of financial aid to pay half of the wages.

The only issue that a student could run into would be if they didn’t qualify for very much financial aid and they would run out before semester’s end; some jobs would just pick up the slack on the wages and finish out the semester but, for some positions or jobs there is no budget available to pay the rest of the wages for perhaps half of the semester and they would then let the student go until the next semester began.

One way to find a job for school whether it be work study or non-work study is to log into Access Plus and to go under Student and click on Student Job Board to see job postings in the Ames area. Some positions will be on campus whilst others will be off campus. Mostly all Work Study eligible jobs will be on campus whereas local jobs such as restaurants or public library jobs will be off campus.

The difference between having a Work Study and Non-Work Study job is the fact the government only pays for half of a Work Study job and only allows a student to work up to 20 hours per week while classes are in session.

Whereas, a non-work study position is generally a minimum wage job with no limit on hours other than state laws.

Work Study is very common among college students; nearly 400 students per year work in dining halls and food establishments on campus through the work study program. Other places such as the Office of Admissions or Memorial Union have crew members for events or even secretary positions for entering data or answering the phone during open scheduling blocks in a student’s day.

Work study is a program that is very helpful in providing students the financial ability to work a guaranteed number of hours per semester and to insure a guaranteed income level.