Most universities have limits on the number of hours undergraduates can work, and federal work study also limits the number of hours weekly. Graduate students h

Most universities have limits on the number of hours undergraduates can work, and federal work study also limits the number of hours weekly. Graduate students have no such institutional protection. Nearly all undergrads are allowed to remain on their parents health insurance, or are provided health insurance by the university student health. Graduate students often have to purchase their own insurance and are too old to remain on parental plans. Treating graduate students and postdocs as students, rather than workers, also means that many of these people don't receive any kind of institutional retirement planning until they're 30+ years old.