It depends upon how the school does it. Some pay directly to the student and others deduct it from the bill. You only work for the 1800 (at federal minimum wage) and nothing over unless the school has the funds or grant to pay the additional. None of mine were ever able to put in the number of hours needed to max out their work study. Sometimes the hours you work vary week to week depending on what you are doing. Watch the schools work study jobs for openings and apply for what you can do. Mine have done alumni newsletter writing, IT and sewing in the costume shop. Some jobs you can end up with a lot of hours and max out quickly and others can be more on demand or just a few per week. Most school will limit you to one work study job. Sometimes no one wants a work study job so they are willing to pay you. One of mine flipped burgers for pay since no one else wanted it as work study. So she had a work study job and the burger job for cash.