A Q&A on Navigating Work-Study at USC
by Adrian Mendoza ‘25
During my time doing work-study jobs at USC, I have gradually learned many useful things about navigating work-study that I wish I had known from the beginning. From learning how to obtain work-study to balancing my work-study amount between two jobs, I’ve obtained so much knowledge of the process of pursuing work-study. So, if you’re just beginning to look into work-study allow me to save you some time and effort by answering some of the questions you may have about work-study.
What is work-study?
Work-study is a federal need-based form of financial aid that provides the university and associated employers with funding to pay work-study eligible student-workers. Having work-study does not guarantee you will receive a job which is needed to earn your awarded funds, and you are limited to only earning the amount awarded to you. Once you’re close to having earned your entire allotted amount, you must inform your employer to limit your hours or, if your employer does not require work-study, you may be able to switch to an alternative form of payment.
Who qualifies for work-study?
Work-study is need-based and federally funded, so you must be a domestic full-time or part-time student who can demonstrate financial need. The amount you are awarded will depend on your FAFSA application.
Do I have to spend my work-study earnings on school expenses?
Having work-study does not impact your hourly wage or restrict what you do with the money you earn. The money you make is your own. Work-study simply enables more students to be hired with federal funds.
What are the benefits of work-study?
Because employers do not have to pay out of pocket to hire work-study students, many on-campus employers require that students have work-study. Not all jobs require it but many prefer it, so having work-study opens many employment opportunities if you’re looking to work for a USC related entity.
Because work-study is officially a form of financial aid, another benefit is that your work-study earnings are not counted toward your income on your FAFSA application and will not impact your financial aid package–unlike non-work-study jobs you may receive on-campus that are seen as contributing to your ability to pay your way through college expenses. Additionally, if you apply for social welfare programs such as CalFresh (the EBT program in California), your work-study earnings also won’t count toward your income, so you are more likely to be approved for the program, and your monthly EBT allowance may be higher.
How do I get a work-study job?
USC hosts a student job fair every semester during move-in week where you can speak to employers and get connected. In my experience, however, the easiest way to find and apply to work-study jobs is through ConnectSC. Here you can filter for work-study positions that are hiring and submit an application online. Employers will reach out from there and, if hired, you will be guided through the steps of work authorization and setting up Workday (the website USC jobs use to record hours and distribute wages).
How is the work-study award divided?
When you receive your financial aid package, you can view your work-study award amount through your FAST page. You will see your amount for the school year under your Financial Aid Summary and the even division of the award between the two semesters under Aid Status. You do not have to divide your work-study evenly between the two semesters, however, as your unused work-study funds carry over from the fall semester to the spring semester (but not across school years).
If you work multiple work-study jobs, you will also receive an email from Payroll Services, after your employer submits an intent-to-hire, asking you to allocate work-study funds to each job. You should then calculate the product of the hours you intend to work for each job and your hourly wage to determine how much of your award should be allocated to each job.
How do you maximize your work-study earnings?
Once you’ve successfully obtained a work-study job, there are a few things to know to help you maximize your earnings. First, if you expect that you will exceed your work-study award, you can easily request an increase in your award. This will not negatively affect your financial aid package and can be done by asking your employer to write a letter that includes the additional amount you’re requesting, your hourly rate, and the number of hours you currently work a week. You can then submit the letter to your FAST page under “Required Info and Forms” as an “Unknown or Unlisted type of Financial Aid Document.” You should be notified of your increased award in a few days.
Conversely, if you do not intend to use your work-study award, you can request to convert the award into Federal Direct PLUS or private loan eligibility. This allows you to take out a larger loan, particularly subsidized loans that do not accumulate interest, while you are enrolled in school. You simply go through the same process of submitting a form to your FAST page, but you include a typed explanation of why you cannot use your work-study award.
Lastly, if you work remotely or will remain near USC during the summer, you can apply to receive summer work-study funds even if you are not enrolled in summer classes. The only requirements are that you are otherwise qualified to receive work-study and that you were enrolled in the academic year prior to the summer and will be enrolled in the academic year to follow. You can easily submit this Summer Work-Study Application and receive up to $3,500 for the summer.
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