The U.S. Congress is weighing cuts to Federal Work-Study (FWS) funding and other education assistance programs, potentially stripping some Georgetown University students of financial aid.

In its proposed budget for fiscal year 2027, the Trump Administration suggested a 90% reduction in FWS, which subsidizes part-time jobs for students demonstrating financial need, and an elimination of TRIO and GEAR UP, programs that support first-generation, low-income and disabled students through college preparation, financial education and support services. The proposal comes after Congress blocked similar cuts for fiscal year 2026.

Atif Qarni, a professor in Georgetown’s education, inquiry and justice program, said TRIO and Federal Work-Study enable students facing hardship to enroll in college while balancing academics and finances.

“TRIO and GEAR UP don’t just help students get into college — they provide advising, mentoring and support systems that many students, especially first-generation and low-income students, wouldn’t otherwise have,” Qarni wrote to The Hoya. “Federal Work Study plays a different but equally important role. It gives students a way to earn money that’s tied to their education and generally more flexible than off-campus jobs. Without it, many students end up working longer hours in jobs that compete with their academics.”

“Taken together, these programs help reduce the gap between students who have built-in support systems and those who don’t,” Qarney added. “Without them, we’d likely see wider disparities in who enrolls, who stays and who graduates.”

FWS was founded in 1964 and provides about $1 billion to roughly 600,000 students annually.

Fatoumata Barry (SFS ’29), who relies on her work-study job to support her education at Georgetown, said there is an often overlooked work-study community on campus that could be impacted by the proposals.

“As a student on a lot of financial aid, I use my work study to make sure that there’s no financial burden on my parents for any extra costs that financial aid doesn’t cover,” Barry told The Hoya.

“Something that people don’t really think about is it’s gonna have a large impact on the day-to-day,” Barry added. “On campuses like Georgetown, work-study is not really talked about as much, but there’s a lot of people who receive it and who do rely on it heavily.”

Anna Gale (SFS ’28), Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) external affairs director, said despite fears of cuts, students must remember that Congress has previously stood against similar measures.

“It’s very easy to be terrified of what’s going on, especially for students that are on these programs,” Gale told The Hoya. “But it’s also important to note that education is one of the few things that Congress has left where most everyone agrees on the fact that low-income students should be able to go to college.”

In February, Congress approved a budget that largely maintained funding for current Department of Education programs.

Isabella Alvayero (SFS ’29), who has a work-study job at Georgetown, said losing her work-study funding would force her to find work elsewhere.

“I kind of rely on my on-campus, federal work-study job,” Alvayero told The Hoya. “Regardless, I feel like I’d have to adapt in some way, whether that means getting a job off campus or trying to find work elsewhere.”

“Not having it would have made it a lot more difficult to obtain a job, especially in the city,” Alvayero added.

Jayeon Yu (CAS ’29), who currently has a work-study position, said she believes the community of work-study eligible students could weaken as a result of cuts.

“It might be more solidarity, because once you have the cuts, there’s less opportunities and everybody is in the struggle of finding a job for themselves,” Yu told The Hoya. “In that way, we’ll be tighter from that struggle, but also during this, everybody’s struggling to find a job, meaning everybody’s a competitor of one another, so that could potentially weaken the community.”

Gale said the potential cuts could threaten future Georgetown students’ ability to attend college.

“This does have the potential to very severely impact not just the current generation of students at Georgetown, but also students that are coming in,” Gale said. “Students in the foreseeable future, in the next few application cycles — it’ll keep students from maybe even considering Georgetown as a place if they don’t think that they will be capable of acquiring federal funding.”