<p>My son has been accepted into the Architecture program for Fall 2010. While we are both excited, I have some questions/concerns about the coop program. It is my understanding that starting in his second year, he would alternate quarters (semesters starting in 2012) of classes and coop. As a Maryland resident is it likely he could get a coop in the Washington DC/Baltimore area so that he could live at home during the coop? To the parents of those kids who embrace the true spirit of the coop program and get coops in multiple cities across the country or world, I would love to hear feedback on how well it truly works having your 19 or 20 year old son/daughter off in a distant city by themselves from the standpoint of housing, meals, safety, feelings of isolation, remaining part of their lives as they are gone from home for 47 weeks a year. Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m not in architecture, so I’m not sure how their co-op fits in with their curriculum. But ill try and answer your other questions:
- In terms of getting a co-op out of state- yes! a co-op is simply a paid internship- UC happen to have quite a few connections with companies which take DAAP students over others. However, if your child is willing to take the time to look and apply for jobs not on that list, by all means go for it! I know a lot of students co-op out of state each quarter (in fact some of UC’s connections are out of state)</p>
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<li>for the second part of your question, I’m not a parent, so i can’t really answer from that perspective. But I’ll give you a student perspective- we’re not on co-op for 47 weeks every year, so while we might be away from where we grew up, we’re still not away from home- UC/daap does become a second home. We make new friends and have a new way of living. So keep that in mind- we’re not quite in a foriegn city for almost the entire year, and after the first quarter (i’m still a freshman), I already feel very comfortable on campus. This is the same issue you would face no matter where you went to college- I don’t think I would ever feel isolated here… In terms of co-oping, I’m not quite sure- as of right now, we’re only gone for 10 weeks each co-op (1 quarter), so that’s just enough time to work hard and still be able to explore a new city! Once again, just because we are no longer living at the house we grew up in doesn’t mean we’re going to feel isolated… it’s all a part of growing up (at least that’s how I see it…)</li>
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<p>Hope this helped a little.</p>
<p>2014dad, Although my daughter is NOT in architecture, she is a rising senior at UC in Digital Design. Thus, I do know a lot about the coop process. By the way, congrats on getting your son into DAAP. Also, we are also from Montgomery County, Maryland.</p>
<p>UC was the forerunner of coop schools. They even started before Northeastern , who always touts their own coop program. Thus, UC has a lot of connections around both the US and the world. I have seen kids get coops as far away as China. In fact, UC kids are designing banners for the Superbowl this year and worked on the Summer Olympics in China last year.</p>
<p>Participating in coop is VERY important especially in today’s economy. Many folks don’t understand this. Students will usually get great, practical experience that they normally won’t get from just an academic setting, no matter how good the school. Moreover, it gives students a lot of connections for future possible jobs. In fact, I think around 30+ percent of kids get offered full time jobs upon graduation from the connections they made while cooping. </p>
<p>Thus, Rule number one: Always keep the names of contacts that you meet while on coop.
Moreover, the coop provides great experience for resumes,which is hard to beat by kids from other schools. In addition, for many majors, the coop can provide some great portfolio work that kids can show prospective employers. For example, my daughter worked on some very high end web sites for movies such as Dark Knight, American Idol site etc. She became so proficient that I had her design my own company web site. She did such as good job that she was referred a lot of business from others who saw the site. You really can’t beat this experiential form of learning.</p>
<p>Rule number two: Always look for a coop early on! Although the school does provide a number of companies for potential coops. in today’s economy, they aren’t as easy to get or plentiful as their once were. It is thus VITAL to apply early and to many employers. Don’t be fooled into thinking that UC will provide you with everything you need. </p>
<p>Rule 3. Don’t totally rely on UC. I have found that many of the best coops were those that my daughter got herself! Your child needs to be proactive. Again, don’t rely totally on UC. This becomes particularly true for the first two coops. Lets face it, most employers would rather have a senior or Junior than a sophomore. Thus, being proactive can make a big difference to both the quality and location of the coop.</p>
<p>Rule 4: coops take logistical planning: Remember that your student will move every 10-12 week ( which will change when UC converts to semesters). In fact, it will be easier then.
Thus, at least a week or two before your kid goes to their coop, you will need to find them housing. Usually neither the coop company nor UC helps in this. Craig’s list is your friend. Sometimes employers can help find housing,but, more often than not, the kid is on their own. You usually need to fly out with your student to both help move and to check out the locations. Little things become important such as: obtaining parking permits, internet access, finding out where the employers is located, obtaining temporary furnishings such as drawers for clothing, TV stand, bed or air bed and possibly some linens and towels etc.</p>
<p>Rule 4: Pack light. Because of this constant mobility, you need to have your child pack very lightly for each move. I strongly suggest that they have no more than two suitcases. Remember, airlines will only allow you two suitcases for travel. More than that will result in large charges. </p>
<p>Bottom line: Although coops are definitely a logistical hassle, they are well worth it. Your son will get experience for their resume and make contacts that very few students in other schools will have. This is a BIG, BIG advantage that UC offers that other schools don’t.</p>
<p>Taxguy, thanks for the insight. How often and for how long does your daughter make it back home with this schedule? We love being around our son and he us, plus he has lots of local friends that he wants to remain close with. I think it would be very difficult for all of us to not have long winter and summer breaks to reconnect. I understand that he would develop new friendships and a new comfort zone while on campus, but I still can’t get my mind around the idea of him being on his own in a new city with no family or friends. Thanks.</p>
<p>2014dad, my daughter is in digital design. She just happened to have most of her coops in California. Since we are in Maryland, we don’t see her much unless we come visit. </p>
<p>She could get coops here or at least closer to where we live. This would make it easier for her to come home. Honestly, we take the position that her education and contacts are paramount to our needs of seeing our daughter. </p>
<p>At each coop, she did meet people. Sometimes they were roommates. Sometimes they were people in her apartment complex.Unless your child is a complete wallflower and doesn’t try to meet people, they should meet a number of folks wherever they go. However, this isn’t guaranteed unless they get out and take affirmative steps.</p>
<p>Taxguy- could you explain how the $$ end of the co-op works? My son will be entering UC in the fall with engineering major. We have not gone to formal visit in the dept but intend to next month. I am wondering if the money earned during the co-op quarter is enough to pay for upcoming quarters or does it merely sustain the student during their co-op quarter? thx- glad to see your posts</p>
<p>momnipotent, each coop has expenses. First UC charges $250 for the coop whether or not they procure the coop for the students. This might at first seem high, but other coop schools charge in the thousands. Thus, it isn’t a bad deal especially if they provide the contacts.</p>
<p>Second, the student will be incurring room and board, entertainment, travel etc. Usually, the coop will pay enough to about cover all of these expenses with maybe a bit left over for tuition. However, I would assume that the coop will pay enough to cover the expenses of the coop and expenses of living in the area of the job with nothing else left over. If the child can earn enough with overtime to pay for some tuition, that would be a major plus, but don’t count on it.</p>
<p>Thanks taxguy. Just trying to plan realistic budget. I have seen some co-op sites (other schools) that suggest that the students can earn enough to cover tuition for the year and even upwards from that.</p>
<p>monipotent notes, I have seen some co-op sites (other schools) that suggest that the students can earn enough to cover tuition for the year and even upwards from that."</p>
<p>Response: This might be somewhat doable depending on the major. Some majors, such as computer science, engineering etc., make more than art and design students. Moreover, with UC being on a quarter system, students only have about 10-12 weeks at the most to earn enough money to pay their living expenses and put away some tuition money. Once UC switches to a semester system,which they are planning on doing starting September 2011, there will be as much as 15 weeks for kids to earn money.</p>
<p>A lot also depends on the location of the coop. Some cities are much less expensive to live in than others. If the student has to pay their living expenses at high cost of living areas, this will reduce the amount available for tuition.</p>
<p>Finally, a lot of planning also depends on the lifestyle you want for your kid. Do you want them to have their own appartment ( which is more expensive) or to live with others who already have an appartment? Do you want them to live in a better, more expensive area? Do they need to rent a car in order to get to work and shop? Do you want them to live their their workplace or are you willing to let them commute a fair distance to work. Living near the workplace might significantly increase expenses. </p>
<p>As an example, my daughter is in California. They spends about $1,100 per month on rent, utilities , cable etc. This is a steal considering she has her own apartment. She also spends an extra $600 per month on a car rental since she is a bit too far away to walk, and she will be working late. She also has food and groceries, entertainment too in addition to all this. She earns $14 per hour and gets paid overtime for any overtime work, which does occur frequently. Thus, she can get an extra 10-20 hours a week of overtime pay. From all this, she first needs to pay taxes , live on the rest and maybe…just maybe… may have some extra for the upcoming quarter.</p>
<p>As you can see , there are a lot of factors that must be considered in order to have enough savings for some tuition. Some schools are very disingenuous about this and leave out some of these costs.</p>
<p>One final point should be mentioned that I failed to discuss. Altthough, most kids do one quarter of coop ( or semester when semester conversions occur) and one quarter of school, this can be changed if circumstances permit. For example, some kids got coops in China working on the Olympics. Because of the distance and amount of work required, they put in two quarters in a row for their coop and came back to UC after it was finished. Lets face it: the Chinese didn’t want them leaving before the Olympics were over and neither did any of the kids. UC did allow these kids to continue with a different section of their class.</p>
<p>^^It’s called “double sectioning” when you do 2 co-ops in a row.</p>
<p>2014dad–you have to realize your son’s local friends will also go away to college and develop lives away from the city they grew up in. My kids did not come home at all after the first summer…they had jobs or internships in their college city or other cities, or in one case did summer school in order to graduate on time with 2 majors.</p>
<p>Life changes and it will never be the way it was when your child lived at home and went to HS. It is all the more precious when reunions with family/friends happen at holidays…those long summers at home are just gone.</p>
<p>2014Dad, my son is a current UC architecture student who’s had co-op experience. Each quarter, the UC Co-op Staff gives the students who’ll be on the co-op during the following quarter a list of employer referrals to consider for their next co-op. Just going back over the past year or so, I’d estimate that at least 10% of the employer referrals were in the DC/Baltimore area. During the recent challenging economic period, the UC Co-op Staff has also been open to students finding their own employers for co-op, which many have done successfully. So between both groups of potential co-op employers, it seems reasonable that your son could do at least 2 of his co-ops near home and save on living expenses.</p>
<p>I wanted to bump this thread up because of its imporance to everyone with kids at UC.</p>
<p>My company hires a lot of engineering coops every year. The kids are given lists of apt complexes that are considered safe, given access to the company BB to post requests for carpools and roommates. It works. the kids end up rooming with other young kids, make friends and get work experience. The biggest hurdle seems to be transportation.</p>
<p>Thanks for these responses. I have already contacted a friend in the DC area about son’s need for co-op NEXT year. He and I are both concerned about the program and will plan ahead accordingly. With 3 in college it is a necessity.</p>
<p>momnipotent, smart move. It is never too early to start thinking about potential coops. Early planning beats out those kids who wait until the middle of their previous quarter to start the application process.</p>
<p>My son is a 2008 UC B.S. Arch grad and 2010 UC M. Arch grad. Total of 6 co-ops, all excellent experiences. Columbus; San Francisco; Chicago; Chicago; Brussels, Belgium; and LA. Columbus connected him with San Francisco and Chicago. Brussels connected him with LA which led to his current employment in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Yes, that was a lot of moving. At last count, we have moved him 14 times. 4 of those co-ops were well-payed, one was unpaid (but probably his favorite experience), and one was a small stipend. He worked aggressively to find each co-op so that he had all types of experiences.</p>
<p>cincy gal,</p>
<p>How did he and his classmates do in the job search process. My daughter is in the MArch program and I wonder if the co-op experiences really helped land the right kind of job.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>momoftwins,</p>
<p>The word from my son was that ~5 students in his graduating class of ~75 had jobs. I think a few more have found jobs since then. Of his close friends, the ones who have jobs are working for companies that they co-oped with. I understand that the class of 2009 fared about the same. It is a tough job market for architects, especially with so many architects also laid off. My son had 2 job opportunities, one in Asia and one in the Middle East, and he opted for Middle East.</p>
<p>Two of the companies that my son co-oped with, but aren’t currently hiring, are doing work in the Middle East (and they know he is there), so time will tell where he will end up and who he will end up working for.</p>
<p>As far as ‘right kind of job’, most recent Arch grads are glad to have any job working in their field. Hopefully, their dream job will come along for them some day. And really, how many of us got our dream job right out of school?</p>
<p>i found this thread very informative…thank you. we live in montgomery county maryland. my daughter will be in the DAAP industrial design program in the fall of 2014. i am so excited for her since i heard this is one of the best programs in the country. my mommy instincts are making me freak out… where will she be co-oping? where will she be living during her co-oping? when she is back at school where will she live? i know the co-op is a paid job which will help pay for housing, food, transportation… then i think…good thing she will be home her first summer so i can take her clothes shopping for business type clothes for her co-ops. it is great to hear there are others from maryland. </p>
<p>daapmom–Don’t freak out! :D</p>
<p>First, your daughter won’t begin co-op until fall of her sophomore year, so she has a year to adjust to college and a new city, and being on her own. </p>
<p>If she wants to live in the dorm when she is back from co-op, they will save her a place. There are dorm rooms which are virtual revolving doors of coming and going engineers and daap students. She can even stay in the dorm if she has a co-op job in Cinti. if that is what she wants to do. (My son, a computer science major, just lives at home when working in Cinti. because we are closer to his job than UC is.)</p>
<p>My boring son actually hasn’t gone to other cities for his co-op jobs, but our close friends’ daughter, who is in ID at daap has spent a semester in NYC (she sublet an apartment with another girl…I think they found the place on Craigslist and had a family friend check it out for them). Now she is spending a semester in Minneapolis! </p>
<p>This is the start of a great adventure for your daughter…things will work out, you just don’t know how yet! :)</p>