Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Financial Aid

Work-Study

Request work-study with this form: Mitchell Hamline Work-Study Request Form 2024-2025
Work-study is a need based, year specific federal financial aid program. File the 2024-2025 FAFSA!

Use the request form to tell us where and how much you plan to work. We will adjust loan eligibility to make room for work-study eligibility. Unearned work-study eligibility can be turned into a loan before the end of the academic year. 2024-2025 ends on May 20th, 2025.

Please note: Students must complete all work study requirements before they can begin their work study position. This includes, but may not be limited to the completion of the applicable FAFSA, work study request form, work study contract (off campus only), new hire paperwork with HR and the submissions of a student employment action request form by your supervisor in the case of an on campus work study position or the financial aid department in the case of an off campus work study positions HR will alert you to when everything has been received and you are approved to begin working. Hours worked prior to this notification may be ineligible for work study funds.

The FAQs below provide information about the program, eligibility for the program, and how the program is administered.

  • Can I earn work-study while earning academic credit in an externship/internship?

    Work-study is a federal need based financial aid program. You must have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid on file to determine your eligibility. If your credit earning internship/externship placement is a paid position, your wages can be based on work-study eligibility. Submit the Work-Study request form to the Financial Aid Office to get this arrangement set up. If your placement does not include being paid, you cannot be paid from work-study alone.

  • What is federal work-study?

    Work-study is a federal need based financial aid program which allows you to earn rather than borrow some of your federal loan eligibility. Students qualify for work-study by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) located at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  Enter the MHSL FAFSA school code G02391 so the results of your application will be provided to us.  Typical work-study eligibility ranges from $2,000 to $8,000 each academic year.  Both on-campus and off-campus jobs are available. Off-campus employers range from for-profit law firms, nonprofit law firms, governmental agencies, and legal aid office. Feel free to contact the Financial Aid Office with your work-study questions.

  • What does “need based” financial aid program mean?

    Need is determined by the comparison of the school’s total tuition costs and living expense allowance with your FAFSA determined Expected Family Contribution (EFC). EFC is determined by FAFSA process analysis of your income, assets and family size. The difference between the COA and your EFC is your potential eligibility for need based aid. Scholarship funds are always counted toward need.

  • I don’t currently have work-study eligibility in my financial aid file. Can I add it right now?

    Maybe. Work-study eligibility replaces loan eligibility. If you are borrowing maximum loan limits, consider carefully that the eligibility replaces borrowed funds with earned dollars: loan funds are available earlier in the semester than pay that is issued as you submit hours.

  • I currently work for a work-study employer and they want me to continue working past the spring semester. How do I continue my eligibility from one academic year to the next?

    The first step to continue eligibility for work-study is to complete the upcoming year’s FAFSA. Next, contact the Financial Aid Office before the end of the spring semester to continue your work-study eligibility for the next academic year. You will be asked to complete a new work study request form and submit it to the Financial Aid Office. Failure to renew your work-study eligibility before the start of the summer semester can result in termination from work-study program and your ability to continuing working with your work-study employer.

  • Are work-study jobs assigned? How do I find a work-study job?

    Jobs are not assigned. The hours and terms of your work are settled between you and your employer. Work-study jobs can be either on or off-campus. On-campus jobs are listed in the Career Services Office Symplicity system. The Mitchell Hamline Library and many administrative offices hire on-campus work-study eligible students. Off-campus jobs must be law related. Typical off-campus employers are the Public Defender’s Offices, law assistance programs, and attorney supervised positions with community organizations. Work-study job descriptions include “Must have work-study eligibility” in the hiring criteria. The Financial Aid Office recommends that you confirm your work-study eligibility with our office before applying to work that requires work-study eligibility.  Work-study funds are awarded to students when they have secured a job offer from a work-study employer.

  • My employer is interested in becoming a work-study employer. How does an employer become a work-study employer?

    The first step for a prospective employer to become a work-study employer is to contact the Financial Aid Office to initiate the contracting process with Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Once this contracting process is complete, the employer can hire a student with work-study eligibility.

  • How is a work-study student paid? Where can I see my earnings?

    Mitchell Hamline processes work-study students’ payroll on a bi-weekly basis. Students are paid for the hours submitted in the Kronos electronic payroll system. Off-campus employers receive Kronos access so hours can be approved for payment. Pay rates are set by the student’s employer. If the employer is a non-profit entity, the student’s pay is split 75% from the work-study program and 25% from the employer. The employer is billed on a monthly basis for the 25% share. If the employer is a for profit entity, the split is 50%-50%, and the employer is billed on a monthly basis for the 50% share.

    Student total earnings have an annual limit (work-study earnings eligibility) which includes both the work-study share and the employer share.  Both students and employers receive periodic messages about earning totals relative to the annual limit. Students can review their total pay in relation to the earnings limit on the Alerts and Messages tab through the financial aid portal location. Prospective and current work-study employers can contact the MHSL financial aid office for further information.