My daughter is considering Drexel (BioMed Engineering) with the 5 year/3 co-op option. She is keen on a spring/summer co-op cycle to try and align some free time (evenings etc.) with high school friends that are going to other colleges and will have more traditional summer breaks. She has been told by the BME academic advisor that she can do that. However reading other threads on this forum, it isn’t clear that flexibility exists and that it is up to the student to choose. Can a current student or a parent comment ? If that choice does not exist can anyone comment on how the school chooses which terms would apply to a student for co-op ? Thanks much in advance.
Hi! I’m a current student at Drexel. I thought co-op cycles were assigned based on major, but they are random according to the SCDC site ( http://drexel.edu/scdc/co-op/undergraduate/policies-procedures/cycles/ ). There is not much you can do to change this once you are already enrolled and everything, but being a student here we are all very aware how money drives Drexel (along with probably all colleges). If this is a deal breaker to whether she will attend, definitely let her advisor know. Hope I could help!
My d is on her first co op now, she is a chemistry major. Her coops are spring /summer because the bulk of chemistry required courses are only offered fall/winter.
I think for majors with larger enrollment ( i.e. Engineering) there may be more course offerings for all four quarters. Maybe just have her confirm with the advisor that she would be able to get all her required courses when she needed them and graduate on time.