Alternately, students can split the moneybetween loans and work and come out a littlebetter in both departments. Or perhaps trade off,switching between reductions in loans and workloadevery year as schedule priorities change.

So which option fits best? Answering thefollowing questions should be a good start towardsthe right decision.

Age Matters

Financial aid experts say where you are in yourHarvard career should play a big role in designingan individualized aid package.

For first-years, they say, it might be betterto get rid of the job. Dorm Crew supervisor RobertWolfreys says first-years that work often findthemselves in over their heads come midtermseason.

And Director of Financial Aid James S. Milleragrees, saying he thinks first-years will opt togive themselves a light workload while adjustingto the Harvard grind.

Seniors should also take it easy, the expertssay, at least when it comes to time spent on thejob. With the demands of thesis work, graduateschool applications and job-hunting, one moresemester of work-study may be too much.

What Free Time?

Christa M. Franklin '98-'99 works 12 hours perweek at Morse Music Library upstairs at HillesLibrary. In semesters past, she has spent up to 30hours a week on work-study and term-time jobs.

During her first year at Harvard, Franklin saysshe made a conscious choice to focus onextracurriculars despite the workload herfinancial aid package required. Franklin says shepaid for that decision in declining grades andwishes she could have done more extracurriculars.

"If I'd had this option my freshman year, mylife would have been a lot different," she says."I actually would have studied more, and I neverauditioned for an a cappella group...because Ididn't have the time."

Across campus, students working for dorm crew,research labs and libraries all say the samething. Working during the school year sometimesmeans choosing between good grades andextracurricular activities.

"I work 15 hours a week, and it's another halfan hour getting to work," says Christine Y. Chiou'01. "That time could be used for a majorextracurricular, but it's really hard to do thatwhen I have to work three afternoons a week."

And so, in deciding where to put your money,your plans for life at Harvard should perhaps bean even bigger consideration than your class year.Students and officials say working more than 10hours a week during terms sometimes makes itdifficult to balance extracurriculars and atypical Harvard course load.

So You Like Your Job...