<p>My parents at the moment have a currently bad credit score and financially strained (incapable of helping me pay as of now). I need a couple more thousand per academic year but I'm not sure where it will come from. And I've heard private loans need to be paid back ASAP, unlike federal loans which are deferred until graduation. I would really hate to start working outside of my federal work study just to pay off those monthly bills and also watch my EFC go up. </p>
<p>And, I'm also wondering if you apply for co-op's/internships through the school, if it counts as regular income to your and would raise my EFC as well? Double-edged sword?</p>
<p>My dad already paid the deposit for this school, and says that we have plenty of time until we need to figure out how to come up with the unmet costs. I'm just really worried because I don't think he understands what we might be getting ourselves into, and I will probably suffer from the burden.</p>