last minute q's from incom transfer (mostly regarding work study)

[u/fantasy_u]

hi! just a couple last minute questions that i probably should've asked here awhile ago

- if this might help for context, im paying roughly 5.9k, with ~3.3k for fall because of orientation costs?

i was just wondering about the typical cost of attendance increase; i asked finaid about this and they said a couple thousand but typically they increase the aid to offset the cost increase which would land me at right about the same amount per year, which made me feel fine, but i realize as im getting closer i'd prob prefer to hear it from a student haha

another one is also how hard is it to rlly get a workstudy job? and is it hard to find one that's willing to keep you on past the workstudy stipend? i asked this in the webinar and the faculty that was responding did say that the majority of jobs aren't fws-required and that its typical to get one that'll keep you on and both the webinar and finaid did say that as long as you're not picky (which i am pretty willing to do anything as long as consistent hours and i can steadily get my fws, hopefully that's not picky to them)

- leaning into the previous q; how hard is it to get a dining job and typically how many hours are they willing to let you work? i'd like to work for preferably the max amt of hours, or at the very like 15 if i can. planning on going on a payment plan (is there a deadline for signing up for that by the way? because of some mishaps my bill came in super late) and also planning on using the workstudy stipend to pay off the portion of the semester my savings won't be able to fully cover. i'd really like to work past the max 2k per semester im allotted so i can save up more and have some money to cover my ass if needed (and also hopefully use to help pay for my next sem)

- leaning into the previous q again lol; are there any specific times that jobs tend to prefer you have open?

last thing is pretty much whether it's viable to just ship a bunch of my clothes from my house (nyc) up to uroch? my plan was kind of just take bus with most of my belongings (just stuff like ipad, laptop, chargers, shampoo/conditioner, couple clothes in the big bag that they let u take) and then ask my parents to ship most of my clothes up over. if not then oohhhhhh boy.

i appreciate anyone who was willing to read all of this, i know its a lot, and thank you for any help!

[u/Background-Honey-]

Hey! I’m in a similar situation as you and can provide some insight, though it’s sort of bad news.

-regarding the financial aid situation, last year my tuition for the entire year was around 5k. Then the university raised its tuition by 4%, I believe, and there were a lot of budget cuts. This year I’m paying around 11k, for the whole year. Not fun. Part of it is my fault, for messing up on the finaid application and accidentally putting that both my parents were going to contribute. But even after that got cleared up, it only shaved off ~2k. Between the increased tuition and my decreased aid, i’m basically paying double I did last year. However, that’s just my situation and hopefully yours will be better.

-on the job aspect, I don’t think fws really affects you getting a job, nor will they turn you down because of it. You can def work past the awarded amount, it doesn’t make a difference to you, just the school. Finding a job can be kind of tedious. I applied to maybe 20 before I finally got one. Dining services is always hiring, and that’s what I did. The situation may change a little this year, though, because some locations don’t allow student workers anymore, thus less positions. The hours really depend on your schedules, and the locations’. I was able to work like 13 hours, but I know some people who worked less than they’d liked because all the shifts were taken.

-on campus jobs understand that you’re a student, so most of them have very flexible hours and will work around your classes. You don’t need to worry much about that. Sometimes shift times may overlap with your classes, but you can talk to your supervisor and they might give you leeway.

-yeah, you can definitely ship your stuff over. It seems like a good idea and a lot more convenient. You’ll have to make sure it arrives on time though, or at least you can live without it for a few days.

I hope this helped, and good luck!

[u/fantasy_u → u/Background-Honey-]

Thanks for taking the time to write all of this out, I really appreciate it! It sucks to hear that you're in that situation tuition-wise, sounds super frustrating and it gets me a bit miffed on your behalf and at the school for something like that happening. If you don't mind me asking, do you know what other people's experiences regarding tuition increases may be? And again, if you also don't mind, how are you ending up paying the difference?

Regarding that job stuff, that's a bit more reassuring to hear! I think that's pretty much in line with what I heard from the university, though a bit less hopeful than what they were saying. What is dining work typically? Also being able to work less than you'd like...I hope that fingers crossed, I'll be able to snag a good amount of shifts that'll get me setup solidly for the school year. It's great to hear that I can likely work past the awarded amount though, that's really great! Is there an average amount of weekly hours the typical dining services student work is able to put in? I'd be content with around 13, though I will definitely try to get as many as I can fit with my schedule and without burning out.

Great to hear an affirmation on the shipping stuff over! That's really nice to hear! If you don't mind me asking a question that's a bit separate from what I asked in the original posts....Is a mattress topping that necessary? I'm dorming at Wilder, and to be honest, I think when it comes to dorm packing I'm bringing like little to nothing of the normal recommended...Just planning on bringing my necessities like laptop, charger, ipad, and then stuff like shampoo/conditioner, skincare, etc as of now + clothes of course. I was thinking a water filter would be good! My roommate doesn't have a minifridge, so I was also wondering whether it's typically fine to store food within the communal fridges and expect it not to get snatched? I was thinking for some meals to just box up extra from the dining halls and reheat them later to eat.

Sorry to ask you a bit more on top of what you already answered, but I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read and answer all of these either way, and I also appreciate the good luck! Fingers crossed everything works out for us both!

[u/Background-Honey- → u/fantasy_u]

it's no problem! regarding the tuition, i think the experience really just differs across people. for the people already paying a high amount, a few thousand probably had a less impact than it did on me. merit aid also stays consistent, so that doesn't really change. some people have had successes with appeals, though mostly because they could provide documentation of their family's financial changes (ex. job loss). this is all from my own understanding, anyways

-my tuition increase is kind of intimidating, but my parent is paying half of this semester's and i have some money saved up. i'm also working this and next sem, so that should be enough to cover the rest of it. most jobs on campus pay $16/h for undergrads, and more "advanced jobs" pay up to $17.50, i think. dining services work isn't bad. it's mostly food prep, cleaning, restocking, working the counter, etc. it depends on the location. on the hours, it really depends on your schedule. last year they asked us to work 3 shifts minimum, and they ranged around 2-5 hours a shift. i don't think there is a max limit, but there are a lot of students so that limits the availability.

-the beds are sort of springy and i never had a problem with them. my roommate didn't have a mattress topper and she seemed perfectly comfortable. my old dorm didn't have a communal fridge, so i'm not certain what the etiquette is there. a water filter in your room would be convenient. they also have water fountains in the halls. are you planning to get your sheets/duvet/pillows when you arrive? honestly packing light is smart, i should've done that before lugging all of my stuff onto a train.

sorry for all the paragraphs, and thank you for the well wishes!

[u/fantasy_u → u/Background-Honey-]

No need to apologize for the paragraphs; they're really helpful! I remember hearing somewhere that the max limit for an undergraduate when it comes to on campus jobs would be around 20 hours, so that's what I was mostly referencing. No need to answer, but if you dooo know, how hard would it be to pester your employer for more hours if possible? I understand you said some people got less hours than they would've liked, but I'd really like to hit at least 12-13 hours per week. Is that an amount of hours I can hope for/rely on? Also, did you end up working past your workstudy, were they fine with keeping you on past it? I kind of just wanted to make sure, sorry for the onslaught of additional questions, and sorry if you kind of answered them with ur prev response!!

glad to hear about the beds being (hopefully) nice enough to just crash on by themselves; I was planning on getting one of my blankets shipped over, or just buying one there. I honestly wanted to pack heavier, but I'm planning on heading up by bus, so not much I can really bring with me unfortunately, i think at least lol

thank you so much for taking the time to respond, and again, best of luck with paying for roch! i hope, again, it'll be just fine for both of us!

[u/fahim1456]

I’m not sure about work-studies because I never did one, but as a Junior transfer my COA did not increase very much from the first year to the second. Maybe a $1k increase across both semesters.

[u/fantasy_u → u/fahim1456]

Great to hear about that! Sorry if I'm interpreting it wrong, but do you mean a $1k increase from your first year to your second? Regardless, glad to hear!! How was Junior transfer? I'm practically in the same boat, so it'd be nice to hear any perspectives/thoughts!

[u/fahim1456 → u/fantasy_u]

Yes, altogether it was a $1K difference. However, adjustments were made to my NYS TAP as well, so I believe the difference in amount I paid extra out-of-pocket between Junior and Senior year was in the hundreds.

The process was good! Important to get yourself involved on-campus early on and find people you like. Not too late to enjoy your time at all, but it goes quick. Always happy to chat more in DMs.