<p>I'm still trying to figure out how I might be able to come up w/ a lg. EFC in order to attend my college of choice.</p>
<p>There are paid co-op opportunities in my major (between 1-3 depending if I go 4 yrs. v. 5 yrs.). The pay scale looks pretty decent, given that I'll be learning and gaining experience!</p>
<p>Anyhoo--Will the paid co-ops effect my financial aid? How about my family's EFC? I guess my income is income, whether it comes from waiting tables over the summer or particpating in co-op...</p>
<p>Income is income. You should also be aware that at some schools the paid coop opportunities are shrinking rapidly. My son attends a school with coop program and this semester he is doing an unpaid coop because there were not many paid coops available. Additionally, don’t forget that unless you are on coop near your family home you will likely be living in a dorm that costs $1000 a month so much of your “income” will be eaten up with room and board costs.
I would NOT count on coop money to help pay for school.</p>
<p>I am a grad of a co-op school, and I am a huge proponent of co-op. There are many wonderful reasons to do co-op beyond earning money for school. If you can do it, please do! </p>
<p>For financial aid purposes, though, your co-op earnings are regular income. They are not backed out of the EFC formula the way work study earnings are - so your EFC would rise a bit due to your increased income. If you are getting mainly loans, though, this won’t really matter a whole lot - you need to see how it impacts your personal situation. If it would increase your EFC in such a way that you would no longer be Pell-eligible, that would be a problem. You state that you have a large EFC - are you only eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans? If that’s the case, the co-op money won’t hurt aid.</p>
<p>I am definitely still a fan of the coop program, particularly in this economy where any real work experience can only help a college grad. I just hate it when students are already counting their earnings before they have even enrolled. There are a lot of other financial considerations as I pointed out in my post. Counting on coop earnings to help pay tuition and COA may be premature.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies…</p>
<p>I wasn’t eligible for the Pell Grant.</p>
<p>My Staffords are $3500 and $2000. I’m not sure which amount is subsidized and which one isn’t.</p>
<p>It looks like my bottom line is going to involve borrowing a lot of $$ above and beyond the Stafford loans. </p>
<p>I really wasn’t counting co-op earning before the fact…but I was kind of factoring them in to see how they might offset the need to borrow more $$.</p>
<p>I really would like the hands-on experience that co-op offers.</p>
<p>3500 is subsidized. If that’s the sum total of your aid package, co-op isn’t going to hurt your aid. You will still be able to borrow $6500 as a sophomore - it’s possible that if your EFC rises, you may have a bit less sub eligibility, but you’ll still be able to borrow the whole $6500 between sub & unsub.</p>