Financial Aid and Student Employment Video Transcript

The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment administers student employment on campus and the undergraduate financial aid program.
We provide students guidance and information on securing student employment – both on and off campus. Cornell offers a wide variety of part-time jobs. Working a modest number of hours each week can provide you with financial resources, as well as valuable experiences and solid references. 
Before you start working on campus, you will be required to complete an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form. This form can be completed with your employing department once you have been offered and accepted a job, at an I-9 completion station at the beginning of each semester, or at one of our I-9 hub locations around campus. If you are an international student and you have questions about whether you qualify to work on campus, you should talk with staff at the International Students and Scholars Office. 
Any student who wishes to work should be able to find employment on campus. Please know that Cornell does not place students in jobs, so you are searching for and applying to jobs directly.  We recommend that you use a few methods of job searching. Online listings, word of mouth, and talking directly to departments where you have an interest in working are all wonderful ways to broaden a job search. There are several online listing databases on campus, and we feature them on our website. Not all available jobs are advertised electronically, as some employing departments rely on word of mouth, email, or bulletin board postings to recruit new student employees. You should talk to your friends, classmates, professors, and TA’s, and describe what you’re looking for in a position – you never know who may have a great lead. If you have a certain department that you are interested in, you should contact the department directly to ask about employment options that may be available.
If you’re a financial aid recipient, there are a few items that you’ll want to be sure that you take care of at the beginning of every year. 
•	You should already have a financial aid award. If you don’t, and are expecting to receive financial aid, please contact our office to discuss how to proceed. 
•	You’ll need to sign online promissory notes and complete online entrance counseling and Regulation Z notices for any student loans that you are accepting. Any incomplete items can be found in your To Do List on Student Center or Student Essentials. 
•	Be sure that your bill is paid in full, and come see us if you need to request additional loan to help cover your balance. 
•	Turn in any outside scholarship notifications or checks to our office. 
•	Even if you receive financial aid, your books, travel, and personal expenses come from your family contribution and academic-year work earnings. Plan for these expenses and come see us if you want to talk about options for financing the family contribution.
•	 If you haven’t done so already, now is a great time to become comfortable with budgeting and understanding the basics of banking and credit. We have developed a website resource to help you with this and you can find announcements about on-campus personal finance programming here.

You may also find that you need to request an adjustment to your financial aid. If your family has a significant change in financial circumstances, contact our office to talk about whether you should file a financial aid appeal.
We create a financial aid award based on an estimated cost of attendance. Your actual costs may vary depending on book and supply expenses, actual housing and dining costs, and other fees, such as a fitness center membership or a Physical Education class charge. We can award additional aid in the form of loan or work by increasing the cost of attendance at your request. Additionally, if you were unable to earn and save your student contribution, we can award loan to help you cover this amount. Complete the Undergraduate Student Loan Request Form, and talk with a member of our staff if you have any questions.
Many Cornell students receive funding from external agencies, organizations, or parents’ employers. We call these funds “outside scholarships or tuition benefits,” and all aid recipients are required to notify our office if they are receiving these funds. We will adjust the financial aid award to account for the funds by reducing any loan or work in your financial aid award. They will not reduce your parent contribution. 
Here are a few financial aid-related items that you’ll want to consider as you move through this year and make decisions about next year.
•	You’ll need to reapply for financial aid every year. Online applications begin on October 1, and we will start updating current student checklists in December. Your Student Center To Do List is where you can find all checklist items, and instructions for applying for aid will be current on our website by October 1.
•	If you’re planning to live off campus in a future year and receive financial aid, it is important that you understand that whether you live on or off campus, we will include the cost of a double room on campus in your cost of attendance. If you want to stay within the budget we have provided, you’ll need to be sure that your total expenses for your housing stay within the double room rate. Most leases in Ithaca are for 12 months. The Financial Aid Office is unable to provide financial assistance for housing down payments or first or last month’s rent for future years, as the aid that we award is meant only to help with this year’s expenses. It is best to discuss living off campus as a family decision prior to signing a lease or a housing contract, as these are legally binding contracts that are difficult and costly to break.
•	Fraternity and sorority recruitment happens early in the spring semester. While recruitment is free, if you join a greek organization, you will likely have additional spring expenses related to membership. Talk with your family about this prior to accepting a bid. If you join a fraternity in the Interfraternity Council, IFC, that requires you to purchase a house meal plan, you will have a brief window of time to adjust your meal plan through Cornell Dining.
Our staff are available to help with any questions or concerns that you have. You can reach us by phone from 10am to 4pm, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, by email, or in person at 203 Day Hall.