Should I Work My Way Through College or Quit My Job to Enroll Full-Time?

Should I Work My Way Through College or Quit My Job to Enroll Full-Time?

I am 26 and looking to start attending school full time this fall.

I am also taking some summer classes at a community college to get all

the credits I can before starting. I am also a transfer student with

37 credits from another school I went to right out of high school. I

am currently married and am considering quitting my job to attend

school full time. We would be able to just barely live off my wife’s

income but I’m wondering if the lower income would help by making me

eligible for additional federal and state grants. As of now, I

qualify only for Stafford loans and nothing else. The alternative for me

would be to keep working part time and make about $10,000 a year in

addition to my wife’s $25,000. Do you think it is worth it for me to

keep working and receive no grants, or quit, get some grants, and be

able to focus completely on school?

— John W.

Financial aid formulas are heavily weighted toward income, so quitting

your job will increase your eligibility for need-based financial

aid. In particular, the federal student aid formula has an income

threshold at $31,000 that can have a big impact on aid

eligibility. Students with family income below this threshold who were

eligible to file an IRS Form 1040A or 1040EZ (or who satisfy certain

other criteria) will have their expected family contribution (EFC)

automatically set at zero. Students with a zero EFC qualify for a

full Pell Grant. If your family income just misses the auto-zero-EFC

threshold, you will still qualify for a Pell Grant, although perhaps not

a full Pell Grant.

Note that the financial aid forms ask for information about your

family income during the prior tax year. Since you will be quitting

your job, last year’s income will not be reflective of your ability to

pay during the academic year. You should ask your college for a

professional judgment review to make an adjustment for the drop in

income. Some colleges call this a special circumstances review or

financial aid appeal. Most colleges will make an adjustment to the

income figures on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid

(FAFSA), switching you from last year’s income to an estimate of this

year’s income.

However, since you are in the 15% tax bracket, you will probably net

about $2,500 to $3,500 more after taxes with $10,000 in additional

income than with lower income and a higher Federal Pell Grant. Federal

and state grants may reduce the need to work and let you focus more on

academics, but you may be better off financially if you work

part-time.

Nevertheless, you should take care to balance your work and school

obligations. A study by Public Agenda found that work, school and

family conflicts are the primary reason why many students

drop out of college.

Work conflicts are more likely for students who are employed

full-time as opposed to students who are working part-time. On the

other hand, other studies have shown that money problems are a major

reason why some students drop out of college.

If you decide to work while in college, don’t work more than 12 hours

a week. Working part-time can improve grades by forcing you to learn

time-management skills. But working more than 12 hours a week takes

away too much time from academics.

Students who work 12 or fewer hours a week graduate with Bachelor’s

degrees at above-average rates. Almost three-fifths (59.2%) of

first-year undergraduate students who intend to obtain a Bachelor’s

degree successfully graduate with a Bachelor’s degree within six

years. Nearly two-thirds (65.9%) of those who do not work their first

year graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. But students who work up to

12 hours a week are even more likely to graduate, with nearly

three-quarters (73.3%) of students who work 1-12 hours a week

graduating within six years. Only students who work more than 12

hours a week are less likely to graduate: less than half (47.7%) of those

who work 13-40 hours a week and less than a third (29.6%) of those

who work more than 40 hours a week graduate within six

years. (Among students who work 1-12 hours a week, working fewer

hours increases graduation rates. 76.2% of students who work 1-6

hours a week graduate with a Bachelor’s degree within six years,

compared with 71.5% of students who work 7-12 hours a week.)

These statistics are based on an analysis of data from the 2009

Beginning Postsecondary Students longitudinal study, which tracks

outcomes for 16,700 students who first enrolled in college in 2003-04.

Source: Fastweb

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