I recently received my financial aid award and along with federal aid, I got the “Barnard College Job” award. Has anyone received this/accepted it? What exactly is this award and what does it entail? If I accept, would I need a job on or off campus? I tried checking the Barnard financial aid website, but the aid award description is vague.
On campus. They can’t offer you off campus employment.
You still likely have to be matched to a job.
From their website:
Job awards are typically included in financial aid packages to help fulfill the self-help requirements. Students are not billed for the job award . All earnings are issued to the student in the form of a bi-weekly paycheck to be used to help cover non-billed expenses.
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I emailed the financial aid office and they wrote: “Once you accept the award, it will be your decision if you will want to work on campus or not. If you decide to work, then yes, it would be a bi-weekly paycheck to you, the student.”
I guess if I accept the award amount, which I believe is $2800 for the year, then I’d choose whether to work or not 
Financial aid can take several forms - and multiple components can be bundled for a student, such as grants, loans, work-study,… You are not obligated to accept each single one of those components, rather can only accept the ones that make sense to you (and your parents).
However, I would only accept the work-study award if you actually do intend to pursue a campus job. Once funds have been allocated to you, they possibly might not be available to another student who otherwise could have gotten that award (or awarded a higher amount) and for whom it would be a crucial affordability factor.
It’s possible that a financial aid department might take notice and prioritize things differently next year!
My understanding is that you will only get the money if you actually work, and most places you have to find the job yourself from among the available offerings.
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