Afraid that leaving your part-time job at home will leave you broke before you can even buy a college sweatshirt? Don't worry. The Federal Work-Study program offers many job opportunities for college students with financial need. These jobs not only help you earn money; they can also boost your résumé, lead to valuable learning experiences and even help the surrounding community.

Last year FWS placed nearly 1 million students with financial need in part-time jobs. The 3,300 colleges that offer work-study use a federal formula to calculate whether a student is eligible. Work-study jobs pay at least the current federal minimum wage and sometimes more, depending on the type of work and the skills required. A bonus: FWS jobs don't count as income for the next year's financial-aid package.

Because the Clinton Administration increased its allocation of work-study funds 35% three years ago, these jobs are more readily available than ever. In fact, there was a surplus at U.N.C., Chapel Hill, last year. "We offered around 1,300 positions to qualifying students and placed only 900 in jobs," says Ann Trollinger, the university's assistant director for employment and programming.

Each school regulates the number and type of work-study jobs available at its campus. Jobs include reshelving books at the library, serving food in the cafeteria, working in the bookstore, answering phones in the intramural office or assisting in laboratory research. "General office and computer support tend to be most popular," says Trollinger. Pat Roy, financial-aid counselor at the University of California at San Diego, notes, "Lab-technician jobs are always in demand." Lehigh University senior Andy Danner appreciates the flexibility of her work-study job at the gym. "I can choose my own hours, which is great, especially around finals, because it doesn't interfere with studying," Danner says.

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Some work-study programs offer off-campus options. The government mandates that most of these jobs be at private nonprofit organizations or public agencies and that the work performed must be in the public interest. In some instances schools have agreements with private, for-profit employers, such as hospitals, hotels and technology companies, but the jobs must pertain to certain majors. Generally the employer pays 25% of the student's wages and work-study pays the rest.

Beginning this year, each college is required to use 7% of work-study funds to compensate community-service jobs. Institutions must employ at least one FWS student as a reading tutor or in a family-literacy program. America Reads, established three years ago by President Clinton, is one way students can earn money while doing good.

Currently 1,403 college campuses are committed to the America Reads program, employing more than 26,000 work-study students as reading tutors. Students serve in schools, child-care centers, child clinics, family-literacy programs and libraries. The government pays 100% of the wages.

For the America Reads program at California State University at Los Angeles, 55 students tutor more than 600 elementary students from seven schools. It is a huge success. "Both the kids and Cal State students have a wonderful relationship, primarily because they come from similar backgrounds and can relate to one another," explains Jorge Uranga, director of epic (Education and Participation in Communities).

America Reads tutors often receive training from the school district, university or a literacy organization prior to and during their service. "The university students go through an extensive training process and have learned valuable skills about the commitment, time, resources and love required to be a good teacher," says Uranga.

A new program, America Counts, is on 494 campuses, including Tulane, University of Denver, Boston University and Whitman College. The program was created to do for math what America Reads does for literacy.

To get more information on the America Reads Challenge, check out www.cns.gov/areads. To find out more about the types of work-study jobs available on a particular campus, contact its financial-aid office.

Source: TIME/The Princeton Review's The Best College For You 2001