What It Represents

Your Work-Study award represents the maximum allowable gross wage you may earn while employed on Work-Study. If your award is $1,500.00, for example, it means that you may earn $1,500.00 on Work-Study. Every Work-Study dollar earned, represents one award dollar received.

Although your Financial Aid Award Letter breaks out your Work-Study award by academic quarter, you may earn your entire award in one quarter if you so choose. If, for example, your award is $1,500.00, your Award Letter will display "$500.00" for each quarter (Fall, Winter and Spring) but you could earn your whole award during Fall Quarter.

What Can Happen:

We may revise (change) and/or cancel your Work-Study award. Several factors may cause a revision to occur:

• Your financial need has increased or decreased;
• Your financial resources have increased or decreased;
• You did not secure employment before the end of Fall Quarter.
• You are no longer registered at UCSB;
• You requested and received additional Work-Study funds.

If your Work-Study award is revised:

• The Financial Aid Office (FAO) will send you an email notifying you of a revision made to your financial aid award.
• If you are employed on Work-Study, we will send a Work-Study Revision to your employer.

Caution:

• If you do not understand why your award was revised or canceled, immediately contact the Financial Aid or Work-Study Offices for clarification.

If you do not or can not earn your entire Work-Study Award in this academic year:

• No problem. You are not required to earn your entire award.
• You may not carry forward your unearned Work-Study to Summer or the next academic year.
• You may wish to convert your unearned Work-Study eligibility to Direct Student Loan (DSL) eligibility.

If so, contact the Financial Aid Office. (Such a conversion requires that you have not already reached your maximum DSL eligibility for this academic year.)

If you can earn more than your (current) Work-Study award:

• We will evaluate our Work-Study funding situation after Fall Quarter ends. If we have surplus Work-Study funds, you may qualify for them! To qualify for additional Work-Study, you must:

1. Be employed on Work-Study; and
2. Able to earn your entire Work-Study award, as proposed, during the academic year;
3. Have financial aid eligibility or "remaining" or "unmet" need.

• We cannot guarantee that we will have surplus Work-Study funds or that we will be able to award you as much as you request.

If you want to split your Work-Study among multiple Work-Study employers:

• You may do so. You are not limited to one Work-Study position/job.
• To hold multiple Work-Study jobs, you must:
  • Calculate the amount you wish to apply to each position (employer); and
  • Visit the Financial Aid Office to obtain additional and/or replacement Referral(s) for your employers.