<p>Is putting NO for work study frowned upon at schools?
The way I am thinking is that if I put work study then like 3500 would be available for me through work. However, if school is tough and I cannot workn’t work I’d have to come up with the 3500 myslef… That’s why I intended to put NO.
Please share your thoughts.
Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>the workstudy funds are generally used for books/personal expenses
you are going to have to come up with that anyway
so you might as well say yes you are interested in workstudy
I doubt that $3500 would be what was available
usually it is much less.
Working also helps students to organize their time
meet other students
and on campus jobs are much more flexible than off campus
plus you can get skills to be used when you look for your summer job
:)</p>
<p>The thing is that the school meets full need and is need-blind and if I don’t have work study then they will meet my need in a different way [I think]. I’d rather have loans because my program is really rigorous. I covered almost all premed courses in one year with honors and I am trying to maintain my 4.00… I am afraid that a mandated job might make me unhappy + everybody complains that they pay very little and are hard to come by. If I cannot find a job, then there is a gap - the part of my “need” that is covered by work study I will have to cover myself…
Thank you again!
P.S. also I’d like to volunteer in a hospital a little bit and do research -> no time for work</p>
<p>I think if you turn down work study, you simply will get less financial aid. The college is limited in how much they can offer you in subsidized loans - and it is unfair to other students willing to work for the college to fill the gap for students who choose not to.</p>
<p>My kids both were offered work study. The money isn’t given to them up front – they have to work for it. In other words, they are offered the <em>opportunity</em> to work in a government-subsidized job for a bit more money. They don’t have to apply for any jobs if they don’t want to work, and if they do, they get to decide how many hours they are willing to work. Neither has ever earned as much as the work study allows them to. This has always been offered in addition to any grants, scholarships, and loans, and doesn’t replace them. In fact, even when the school offers loans, we don’t have to take them at all, or can take a lesser amount. The money comes in throughout the year, in the form of paychecks. Like the poster above said, my kids used it to pay for books and incidental expenses throughout the year. </p>
<p>I am not sure that checking “no” will change anything, except the school won’t allocate work study funds on your behalf in their budget. </p>
<p>In your scenario, the school would have to
a. be need blind
b. meet 100% of need
c. determine level of need the same way you are doing</p>
<p>If you are anticipating 100% need, and don’t want the work study, then you’ll probably be given the option of only grants and loans, but I’m not sure they’d be any higher. You are pointed in certain directions to apply for various loans, and are given a maximum amount you are eligible for. It is up to you to apply for how much you want.</p>
<p>Thank you! The schools that I am applying to are need blind and meet full need. So I was hoping that they would allocate funds through loans… Otherwise if I don’t do the work study and just request it there will be a gap…
Then maybe next year I could reconsider and do some work…</p>
<p>Do keep in mind that a work study science research job would probably be a better EC for you than generic volunteering at a hospital. Before turning down work study, I suggest that you talk to the college’s work study office to find out what kind of jobs students have been able to get.</p>
<p>Based on the fact that you’re applying to need blind, 100% financial need met colleges, sounds like you’re applying to some of the nation’s top colleges, and doing a work study with a professor at such a college could get you a nice recc that would help with getting to med school as well as summer research offers.</p>