<p>My DS is a second year EE major and is supposed to do his co-op next semester. He has interviewed for 2 co-ops and applied for many, many more. As of last week at least 20 co-ops he has applied for have not been filled. He spoke to his co-op adviser today and was told 25% of EE majors do not have co-ops yet for next semester.</p>
<p>He is going to register for classes, continue to apply for co-ops and may or may not have to move out of campus housing depending on if and where he gets a co-op. I did not expect so much stress to be involved in getting his first co-op esp. as an engineering major. It seems incredibly high that 25% of these EE students don't know where they will be next month. And if its 25% for an engineering major what is it for other major that are supposed to be in less demand?</p>
<p>I do not have any personal insight into EE Co ops, but maybe he should connect with students who have already participated in co ops similar to what he is applying for. If memory serves me, my daughter’s co ope advisor was somewhat weak and she had to so some of her own searching. I don’t believe this is a common assurance though , because they are clearly leaders when it comes to co ops and all of their connections. Someone might have some better advice if they have run into similar issues </p>
<p>There is fluctuation in spring vs. fall, and an inherent challenge in getting the first co-op when competing against people going for their 2nd or 3rd co-ops. In the spring semester, you also have 25% less time in classes than applying for a first co-op in the fall cycle, which means they might be looking beyond classes only for qualifications. (That’s speculation.) How are his stats and refernces? I’m on the fall co-op cycle, so I don’t know about spring co-op timing, but I do know that interviews often go past the end of the semester and sometimes people are still getting co-ops post-Christmas - that’s the businesses just not getting on top of things with the school schedule. And even if he doesn’t get a co-op and takes classes, this doesn’t put him behind. If he applies again in the fall, he’ll just be with the other students from his year who are in the other co-op cycle. </p>
<p>My son tried for the first coop in the spring semester of his sophomore year and it was very stressful. @nanotechnology is correct many kids wait until the fall of their third year to apply for coop-I think the earliest you can apply for coop it after three semesters of class or right now when your son (and mine) applied.</p>
<p>He registered for classes but in the end got a coop pretty close to Christmas break. Most of his friends had long since been placed-it was very upsetting to him but he had a great coop adviser and he learned the hard way that it’s a tough world out there-you think being a good student is enough-what he realized was there are lots of kids every bit as good or better than him-he had to work hard and and learn even more humility in the process. He ended up in a very good coop but it was not what he had been looking for in terms of location. He had to expand his search to include a broader area and a broader job description. The one he ended up with turned out to be a lot better than the one he wanted so much but he had no idea at the time that would be the case.</p>
<p>I had to help him work through this emotionally it was very discouraging for him. Keep us posted OK?<br>
My advice to him was to see his coop adviser every day! She really went to bat for him and the coop he ended up taking he didn’t want to apply for because it was an intermediate level one but they wanted in addition to math ability strong writing skills. His adviser told him to apply as that might get him an interview-which it did. He felt great after the interview but had felt great after the other interviews where he didn’t get offers so he was afraid to get his hopes up. Poor kid-I bet you know exactly what I am talking about @Mom24boys. When they called him with an offer and then formalized it in writing I believe we were all happier than any college acceptance he ever got!</p>
<p>He is on coop right now as he switched to the fall rotation. This time was much less eventful. He is finishing that one up and looking forward to his third one next fall. </p>
<p>Tell your son to live in the coop advisers office!</p>
<p>@Pepper03 I am copying and sending your advice to my son. Unfortunately or fortunately, he is flying home tomorrow so he can not live in his coop advisers office, but he can contact him ever day.</p>
<p>It somewhat comforting to know that my son is not the only one. I had thought if he did not have a coop lined up by the end of the semester he would have to transfer out of NEU, so I am now a lot less stressed (still stressed).</p>
<p>I understand completely how you feel! I never contemplated him transferring though-but he has a good scholarship if it was costing a lot of $$$ I may have. </p>
<p>Your son is not the only one I promise! It also doesn’t mean he has poor prospects for coops or jobs after graduation-if it is anything like my son’s experience he will be better for this after he gets through it. If my son had not gotten something he would have gone to classes and tried again in the fall. Your son is ahead of the game even if he can’t find something (which I doubt) he will be ahead of the kids in the fall because he has gone through this experience.</p>
<p>One reason he switched to a fall rotation is he had to commute to his coop and one winter of driving was enough! This time he is downtown where he wanted to be last time but he had to make concessions but you know what? When he finished his coop they had a little party for him and gave him a very nice bonus! They also asked him to please consider them after graduation! They keep in touch and he feels very good to have something that he would enjoy doing for a “real” job after graduation if things turn out that way.</p>
<p>I hope you pass all of this along to your son. :)</p>
<p>Having just gone through the process these past few months, maybe I can help. I was extremely fortunate in the co-op search and chose in late October. However it really depends on your major- some majors/co-op advisors send out resumes early and some send them out “late” so people may not hear until mid- late December (SUPER nerve wracking, I know). I’ve seen a flood of my friends just get co-ops within this past week.
Engineering it notorious for receiving co-ops late in the game, so I would say to be aware, but not overly stressed. And if he has to either send a few more applications out over break, make sure it’s to “hot jobs”(jobs still seeking applicants).
Also, many people don’t get a co-op in their first application cycle, and wait until the next semester to try again. It doesn’t indicate a failure, it just means that they learn from the experience and can come back again, more prepared than the last time.</p>
OP coming back with an update. DS started to get calls for interviews after he came home for winter break. He had several phone interviews over break, but no offers. So he registered and started classes last week.
During the first week of classes he had 2 on-site interviews (one was a second interview). Today he received a job offer. He is very excited, they actually offered him more money then he asked for. He will withdraw from classes (no penalty) and start his co-op Monday.
