A number of students are not aware that some scholarships cover only tuition fees but not living expenses and this can be a challenge to students that depend fully on these programs. It this therefore important that while applying for scholarships that you pay close attention to what is covered to avoid surprises. For students that have comprehensive plan in terms of extra resources, this is probably a non-issue to them.
However, there are many ways to supplement scholarship resources. In this article, I will be discussing Work and Study programs.
Work and study program is a program created by most universities to help students make extra money to supplement tuition payment and living expenses. The work and study program provides students with an opportunity to experience the sense of community while still a student. Students in the work and study programs are able to gain work experience that can potentially count towards their resume while looking for work in their field of endeavour after graduation.
The program also helps international students who are seeking opportunities to practice their language skills to do so by actively engaging with people in the university community.
The requirement to work on campus differs by both country and school where the scholarship is tenable in. For example, in Canada, the student must have a valid study permit in order to work on Campus. This means that if your study permit has expired, you will be working illegally if you take work or work beyond the date of expiry of your study permit. Because of this rule, most schools will require you to apply for work authorization on campus. One of the basic requirements the school might need before they approve your authorization to work within the campus will be a valid study permit.
The work study program in a country like Canada largely mean working on Campus and NOT Working Off Campus. As a student, if you need to work off campus, you must apply for a work permit through the government. Using Canada as a case study, only a few schools are approved by government to participate in the Work off campus program. You can view the list of schools that participate in this program here.
Another work study program is called Co-op intern. This program is usually advertised as part of the study program curriculum. Students are required to have completed a number of courses within the program schedule to participate in the co-op program. As expected, the student will apply for work permit through the visa off office of the country where is the scholarship is tenable. If you are in Canada, you can check the government website for more information.
In conclusion, work study program is a very good program that assists students to meet their immediate financial needs while proving them with necessary opportunity to learn how to look for work on Campus , integrate in their new environment and where applicable acquire working experience that may help them in their future careers. Working on campus do not require government authorization but may require work authorization within the campus. Working off campus either as co-op intern and/or regular employment will require the student to apply for work permit through the government.