Does taking Co-Op make you “lose” some portion of scholarship?
For example, I am thinking to finish college in 5 years assuming I do Co-Op for 2 semesters. Then, is scholarship applied to those semesters as well, or is it “on hold”?
My son has accepted a co-op and he will not lose his scholarship. It is put on hold during the co-op semesters.
Paul, see this link for complete info: http://coop.eng.ua.edu/aboutcoop/ and be sure to read thru all of the info carefully. Usually co-ops are 3 working semesters, alternating with UA semesters. You need to contact the UA co-op office and discuss your plans with them ahead of time.
Regarding scholarships and financial aid, look for the tab “Program Requirements” under STUDENTS, which opens a PDF discussing the following:
"During work semesters, Co-op students do not receive scholarship monies. Scholarships are
deferred to the next academic scheduled semester. Multi year awards (Alumni Presidential) will still
be awarded for a total of eight academic semesters providing the student continues to meet
scholarship requirements. Before reporting to work, co-op students will defer scholarships to the
next appropriate semester.
“Co-op students receiving “need based” financial aid are responsible for maintaining contact and
providing the required information to the office of Student Financial Aid by the stated deadlines.
Co-op students receiving financial aid may deduct expenses during the co-op work semesters by
completing the Financial Aid and Special Circumstances Application for Income Reduction Form
online by going to http://financialaid.ua.edu/. This will minimize the impact of your gross co-op
salary on your Financial Aid award the next academic year. Co-op students do not normally receive
Financial Aid during the Co-op work terms.”
@paul2752, that’s exactly what my son is doing, taking five years to earn his degree in order to complete a co-op. You’re asked to pay a $264 co-op fee during the fall and spring co-op semesters (they don’t require it during your summer co-op semester), but your scholarship remains untouched until you return to classes.
Perhaps @Tide4CoOp, who works in the UA co-op office, can answer your specific questions more directly.
The co-op program is THREE semesters, however. One summer, one fall, and one spring.
How many hours do Co-op students commit weekly? Int students like me are very sensitive to whether it’s less than 20 hours or 20+ hours per week because this can affect OPT eligibility later.
*Edited: Ok now I see the Co-Op is much more than 20 hours per week. I have a good chance not being able to do full time internships due to limitation full time CPT…I plan to apply to med school within a few years and this may cause some complication
Co-ops are fulltime jobs during those semesters. You’ll need to consult with the co-op office to see how being an international student affects your ability to participate.
@paul2752 Co-ops are not the same as internships.
Well for international students, we have to go through CPT approval whenever we need to do off campus internship or Co-op.There is 364 days cap on full time CPT, and it both includes any 20+hr/week iinternship or Co-Op. If I do it more than 364 days then I lose OPT eligibility. It’s a bit complicated…anyway thanks