Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a distinctive type of financial aid, intended to both reduce financial constraints and improve access to career-relevant job opportunities. Annually, it provides more than $1 billion in support to more than 450,000 college students with financial need nationwide. Despite its scale and longevity, systematic evidence on the program’s implementation and impact remains limited. Drawing on student surveys, interviews with students and college personnel, and administrative data, this presentation will discuss the implementation and evolution of FWS at undergraduate institutions within the City University of New York (CUNY) system during and after the pandemic, highlighting aspects of program operations and adaptability that have implications for understanding the program nationally. We will also present results from a quasi-experimental analysis, using pre-pandemic data, of the effect of receiving a FWS offer on college enrollment and FWS participation (take-up). The research covered in this presentation was conducted as part of a larger research project that includes a randomized controlled trial evaluation of the effect of receiving a work-study offer on student enrollment, program participation, and other outcomes. Understanding how students have experienced the program across campuses and over time—from before the pandemic to the present—will help provide context for the impact evaluation, with preliminary findings expected in 2027. Our findings so far highlight the importance of understanding what happens between FWS offers and FWS employment, not only what happens after, and we hope will spur further conversation about how to make the most of this distinctive program.