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The Federal Work Study Program
from: Kyle BesserThe Federal Work Study Program (FWS) is a federally funded program to assist students with the costs of postsecondary education. The FWS helps students earn financial funding through a part-time work program. Approximately 3,400 institutions across the country participates in the FWS program.
The FWS program is based on financial need, and students must be accepted into the program to qualify. Financial need is determined by using a standard formula established by Congress to evaluate the financial information reported on the FAFSA and to determine the expected family contribution (EFC). The fundamental elements in this standard formula are the student's income, the parents' income and assets, the family's household size, and the number of family members excluding the parents attending postsecondary institutions.
The EFC is the sum of:
*A percentage of net income after subtracting allowances for basic living expenses
*A percentage of net assets after subtracting an asset protection allowance.
Different assessment rates and allowances are used for dependent students, independent students without dependents, and independent students with dependents. After filing an FAFSA, the student receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), or the institution receives an Institutional Student Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR), which provides the student's EFC. Institutional financial aid administrators at participating institutions have substantial flexibility in determining the amount of FWS awards to provide to students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment.
Federal funding is made available to participating institutions based on requests made by the institutions. A statutory formula is used by the institutions to help determine the allocations to request. Once funds are allocated to each institution, it is up to that institution to administer the funds. Once all the funds for the institution have been allocated, no more students can participate that year. Since the FWS program is typically a first-come-first-serve program in most institutions, the earlier you apply, the better your chances; and if you apply after the deadline, you will most likely not get in.
Each institution has its own restrictions on the way it allocates funds. The institution provides a number of different types of jobs both in their own institution as well as through private employers. The federally funded program encourages institutions to use the funds to help give back to the community. Some of the jobs offered are often reading tutors for young children, literacy tutors and mathematics tutors. Other jobs can be on campus such as working in the library or student center or performing administrative functions in the office.
Some institutions may have restrictions on the amount of hours per week that you can work. Also, there may be restrictions that pertain to your grade point average. For example, if your grade point average slips below a certain level, the college may not allow you to work through the FWS program.
The FWS program helps to ensure that college students who are truly in need of the money get the jobs. Students are assured of receiving at least federal minimum wage for the duration of their employment. You will be paid by the hour if you are an undergraduate directly by the school at least monthly. Wages for the program must equal at least the current federal minimum wage but could be higher depending on the type of work and the skills required. The amount you earn can't exceed your total FWS award. The employer or financial aid administrator will consider your award amount, your class schedule and your academic progress when assigning work hours.
There are many different types of jobs that qualify for the FWS program. The FWS program encourages community service work and work related to the student's course of study. If you work on campus, you will usually be working for your school. If you work off campus, your employer will usually be a private non-profit organization or a public agency. The work performed must be in the public interest. Your school might have agreements with private for-profit employers for FWS jobs. This type of job must be relevant to your course of study. If you attend a career school, there may be further restrictions.
Students can apply for the FWS Program if they have financial need. To qualify for the FWS Program, students must apply for federal assistance through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program. The program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. The FAFSA will determine if you qualify and how much money you will receive.
Students who did not indicate an interest in the FWS program on their FAFSA can still get into the work program. Each institution has its own deadline for these funds. It is worth noting that the deadline for the Federal Work Study Program is typically earlier than the deadline for filing a FAFSA. Therefore, it is important to apply as early as possible. Once the funds at the institution have been awarded, no more students can participate that year. The amount of FWS aid that you may receive depends on the total amount of aid that you are receiving.
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