<p>Does anyone know about pledging a cooperative house? I had been planning to commute to my college (to save money) but there’s a co-op that appealed to me. So I have a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li>Can scholarship money be put towards co-op rent?</li>
<li>Do you have to be planning to live on campus no matter what to pledge a co-op?</li>
<li>What does pledging involve? This one says they don’t haze.</li>
<li>The college makes it seem as though a prospective co-op pledge must visit all of the cooperatives. Is this true?</li>
<li>Do I have to accept an offer from a co-op? Or can I cop out?</li>
</ol>
<p>The co-ops that I know about do not have a pledge process like that normally associated with fraternities and sororities.</p>
<p>You probably want to look at the web sites of your school and the co-ops for more details on your questions. As far as scholarships and financial aid go, co-ops should be treated as just any other kind of housing you can live in.</p>
<p>Co-op rushing at my school does require you to go to every house. I’m sure you can opt out. The whole point if a co-op is to live in the house and contribute to the work, so you can’t commute once you join. I’m not sure about hazing. I haven’t heard much as far as rumors regard co-ops but every school is different.</p>