<p>Besides RIT, which he'll visit sometime within the next year, are there any other colleges that have similar programs? He's probably more interested in Colleges in the mid-west and East.</p>
<p>Okay, how about a college for B, B+ students that is like Drexel? Northeastern looks like a pretty good reach for my son. According to the College Navigator website, Northeastern only accepts 35% of it’s students compared to 68% for Drexel.</p>
<p>Watch it when it comes to Widener. I can only tell you what I have heard 2nd hand. We know someone that is in their nursing program and they are paying an extra fortune for summers when she has to do her “clinicals”. This is where she gets clinical experience but the parents are paying MINT for that experience!!! Her parents have complained quite a bit about it. </p>
<p>Also, I have heard that Widener is not in the greatest neighborhood. I do know one person who is a graduate and he had 4 great years there.</p>
<p>Just adding that Drexel is not in the best location either. My son has a friend who attends. My son has spent a few weekends at Drexel. His tales about the area are not too pretty.</p>
<p>Highly regarded especially in math and engineering, tons of recruiters (Microsoft recruits more from Waterloo than any other university), and well known for its co-op program. Might also be more affordable, with total annual cost (tuition, board etc), for Americans about 29k-35k, depending upon program.</p>
<p>They have over 100 coop programs, and 53% of their students are enrolled in a coop and 96% of them are employed fulltime at graduation.</p>
<p>Frazzled, Is Pitt’s program an internship or a co-op program? I’ve found that most colleges offer an internship, even require it, but colleges like Drexel build three 6 month co-op’s into their 5 year program.</p>
<p>I should add that son is looking at Information Science and Technology or something similar to that but not computer science or computer engineering.</p>
<p>Pitt Engineering offers a co-op program that consists of three 4 month rotations, if possible at the same company. This is run through the engineering school’s co-op office (which also helps with assembling a resume, contacting companies, etc.), and available to engineering majors. It could be that other Pitt schools would offer paid internships rather than the co-op experience - I would check their web pages, give them a call, or arrange a visit. I do not know what students in Information Technology do.</p>
<p>I also do not know how the current economy has affected co-op or internship openings in different majors. In the past, this sort of thing was kind of fickle - one semester everyone who wanted a co-op in a major such as chem-e would be able to find one, while a year later almost nobody in that major found a co-op. I do not know that this is unique to Pitt, but one advantage at Pitt seems to be the ample opportunities for undergraduates to work for pay in labs at Pitt during the school year and summers from freshman year onwards.</p>
<p>Check into Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. Great co-ops and a bit less selective than Drexel. By the way it is next door to Northeastern.</p>
<p>Okay, will look at Wentworth, Widener, Waterloo, DePaul and Pitt. I have heard similar cautions about Widener before - great campus but not so hot on academics. I also remember reading that it’s more for adults and non-traditional students.</p>
<p>A few other strong co-op schools that you might look at are University of Cincinnati and Kettering University. Also, just an fyi: each year the National Commission for Cooperative Education offers several scholarships to students who are admitted to specific partnering institutes. If your S does apply to any of these schools it wouldn’t hurt to also apply for this scholarship! This year those schools include: </p>
<p>Drexel
RIT
Kettering
Univ of Cincinnati
Univ of Toledo
Pace University
Wentworth
Johnson & Wales</p>
<p>(interestingly Northeastern, which has been one of the participating schools in the past, is not listed this year)</p>
<p>One downside is that they only have a Computer Science program (no IT). So I don’t know if that would fit the bill for your S. My S really liked the school, but he thought the CS program was too heavy into programming for him.</p>
<p>If he is interested in WPI, I would suggest applying Early Action (non binding). The acceptance rate for that option is very high (I think above 80%).</p>
<p>Son does not want to do computer science. He’s good at programming and is getting an A in AP computer science right now, but is also a people guy and his skills would be more in line with Information Sciences and/or Technology.</p>
<p>In their section on “Academic Programs To Look For” US News lists several schools known for their internship and co-op programs, some of which have already been mentioned. You might want to look at this list as well.</p>
<p>Kathiep - That’s what I thought, but I just wanted to mention it.</p>
<p>How about Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in NY? They have an IT program and a coop program (don’t know how extensive the coop program is, though):</p>