Why can't I get work study?

Question

I put down work study on my FAFSA and I come from a low income family.I send in my FAFSA before March every year. What could be the problem?

Answer 1

It could be you are not "poor" enough.  Lot's of people think (especially teens) think the family is poor but really they are not.  Quality of life isn't calculated in when determining need for fin aid and just because mom or dad cant buy you certain things, car, cell phone, whatever... doesn't mean you are poor.

If your EFC is/was around zero you should get Work Study and should prob check with the fin aid office to make sure no mistakes have been made.  

Good luck.

Answer 2

The problem with work-study is that #1, it is a need-based aid program so you have to have legitimate need to qualify.  It is up to the school itself to have a policy on how to determine this, but as Found-1 mentions, it is usually related heavily on your EFC.

#2, work-study is limited to each school based on what their allocation from the govt is.  Some have larger allocations than others.  It could be that the school was out of funding by the time they awarded you.  Find out if they have a wait list to get it eventually if you meet the need-based criteria.  A lot of students tend to ask for the funding but then never use it and Aid offices tend to cycle it back to those who would - like you.

#3, they may not know your interested even if you checked the box on the FAFSA.  None of the schools I have worked for has ever bothered to go by that box to award work-study, so this is possibly true of yours.  They may require you to apply for it separately through an in-house form.