Like all first-year work-study students at Dickinson College, Angeline Apostolou started with a stint in the cafeteria, cleaning tables and washing dishes. By senior year, the international studies major from Livingston, New Jersey, had transitioned to a job as a student supervisor at the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, which coordinates visits with scholars, authors and other guest speakers who come to the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, college each semester.
“It was great meeting people you see on the news or in books,” says the 2015 grad, noting that the job was her favorite part about Dickinson. Apostolou started at the forum as a sophomore project manager, earning $8.25 an hour and working 10 hours per week.
When she was promoted to supervisor as a junior, she was logging a couple more hours each week with a small bump in pay. In addition to sharpening her communications and research skills, Apostolou hired and led a staff of her peers and ran events. She now hopes to put those experiences to use in a foreign affairs job in Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of thousands of college students participate in the federal government’s work-study program, part of its financial-aid superstructure for those who demonstrate need.
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The first step: Opt in when you’re asked if you’d like to be considered for the program in question 31 of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. If you’re eligible, and if you follow through by actually finding a position once you get to college, then you can expect to earn at least federal minimum wage — currently $7.25 an hour — or the state or local baseline, if higher.
Most jobs are on campus — in the dining hall, bookstore or athletic department, say — though some might be with local employers. The government awarded a yearly average of nearly $1, 4 00 per student at about 3,300 colleges in 201 3 -1 4 , according to the latest Department of Education data.
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Schools are required to kick in 25 percent of every student’s funding, which means that annual awards often run around $2,000 or $2,500. You’ll coordinate your own work schedule and may work as much as you like up to the ceiling imposed by the size of your award. An award of slightly more than $1,000 per 14-week semester would work out to 10 hours a week at $7.25 per hour, for example.
There are “a lot of different models out there” for actually securing a job, says Joe Weglarz, executive director of student financial services at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Marist holds a work-study job fair to introduce new students to prospective employers, and the student financial services office helps facilitate the job search.
At Iowa State University, students have access to a jobs portal of available positions, which they apply for on their own. Other schools place students in positions based on their skills and academic interests.
Besides providing some tuition or spending money, work-study jobs can help you build a resume, establish a network of mentors and potential references and learn useful skills.
“My public speaking ability skyrocketed from having to be on the balls of my feet at all times to answer fairly abstract questions about specific pieces of art,” notes Jeremiah O’Leary, a 2015 graduate in service design from Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, who spent four years in a work-study gig as a docent at the SCAD Museum of Art.
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Research shows that students who work about 10 to 15 hours a week tend to perform better academically, adds Desiree Noah, who coordinates student employment at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, and is president-elect of the National Student Employment Association.
One great perk of a work-study job is that your employer will probably give you a break when you’re swamped at exam time and pulling all-nighters.
This story is excerpted from the U.S. News “Best Colleges 2016” guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.
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Make a Work-Study Job Pay Off originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/22/15: This article has been updated to reflect the current year.
