Internships, tutoring and research jobs salaries can also be used for expenses. Our engineering students make about $10,000 each summer Internship and $3,000 during the semester doing research, as a TA or maintain a student workspace. We only pay tuition and rent, so they are responsible for food, books and other expenses. They have learned to manage money and will be loan free at graduation.
Finding a summer internship close to home meant a borrowed car for commuting, free food, no rent and they sublet their off campus housing. We enjoyed having them at home.
@purpletitan and @KLSD, absolutely agree with you about finding summer internships or campus jobs on your own. A university sponsored co op is only one option. It worked out for my son, but many of his friends found summer jobs and internships that were not university sponsored. He also had a few friends working at Dunkin Donuts
I can only speak about the co op programs at Auburn and Clemson, as those were the two schools my son was seriously considering. At both schools, the students submit resumes to employers and go through a competitive interview process. Landing a co op is not guaranteed. The OP is inquiring as to how much can be earned through these programs as a factor in deciding whether a college is affordable. The pay is going to vary from employer to employer and from one part of the country to another. If the school you are considering doesnt guarantee your kid a co op, I would not consider co op salary when crunching the numbers.
On another note, I would issue a word of caution even when looking at merit aid offered. My son received generous merit offers from both auburn and Clemson. Both required maintaining a 3.0 to keep the scholarship. For other majors, this might be a piece of cake, but it is not uncommon for engineering students to lose their scholarships.
