This is a good idea.
But since it’s late to find a co-op, perhaps ask your school for a leave of absence for a semester or a year. But still try to find a job that will help you pay for college. Have you done any internships? If not, why not?
How much does your school cost? Are they allowing students to take classes online this year? If so, can you afford to do that if you borrow $7500 for the school year and work to pay the difference?
Fill out FAFSA and get that $7500. Too bad you didn’t ask earlier because we could have told you to file FAFSA for the past year to get that 7500. The total 15k may have made the difference for this coming year.