<p>My son is interested in majoring in Business. Can anyone recommend a college with a good co-op program or other work experience as part of the degree? I heard Northeastern and RIT have these programs. Is the extra cost worth it? Any other universities/colleges to consider a visit this summer? With the economy as is, I hear a lot that work experience before graduation is very valuable. Thanks so much.</p>
<p>I think that Drexel may have it also.</p>
<p>Do you know anything about Drexel?</p>
<p>I just graduated from Northeastern, and although it’s five years, there really is not much extra cost, if any. You don’t pay tuition while on co-op. I happened to live off-campus for all of mine and therefore paid nothing to the university, and the amount that I got paid for two of the three of them allowed me to cover all of my own living expenses. And I’m looking to work in non-profits. Business co-ops usually pay decently; your son might even be able to save some money.</p>
<p>As you make your rounds of schools, I would also advise asking specific questions about co-op placement rates. These differ significantly from year to year and as well as among majors, and between schools. Sometimes students have to be persistent with their networking, and take two or three semesters to find a suitable co-op opportunity.</p>
<p>Something else to look at is whether students complete a capstone experience (and the quality of that experience) and whether and how students generally obtain internships for at least one summer.</p>
<p>From everything I have heard and seen over the past years, work experience is indeed desirable for new grads and has been for some years, especially for grads interested in entering a field in which they have few or no family connections, and for those who do not have the personality to whiz past HR departments. It is a very good idea to evaluate the quality of career offices while looking at everything else a school offers.</p>
<p>University of Cincinnati is known for its co-op programs. MIght be worth checking to see what they have for business majors.</p>
<p>Under their “Academic Programs to Look For” section, the US News College Rankings includes a list of schools who are well-known for their internship and co-op programs; although this list is not for specific majors or programs, it might at least be a good starting point: </p>
<p>Alverno College Milwaukee, WI
Berea College Berea, KY
Bradley University Peoria, IL
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Elon University Elon, NC
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
Johnson and Wales University Providence, RI
Kettering University Flint, MI
Keuka College Keuka Park, NY
New York University New York, NY
Northeastern University Boston, MA
Ohio State University–Columbus Columbus, OH
Portland State University Portland, OR
Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN
Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH
University of Maryland–College Park College Park, MD
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA</p>
<p>Although I cannot speak about most co-op programs, my S is in his 4th yr at Northeastern and loves it there and has really benefited and grown from his academic and co-op experiences so far. He is in a 5-yr engineering program and has done 2 co-ops so far, with one more coming up later this yr. However, their Business co-op program is one of their strongest programs, along with engineering. </p>
<p>S also has Asperger’s so he has benefitted not only by gaining actual work experience but also in developing his social understanding of how the real world operates outside of school. In addition, some of Northeastern’s co-op program requirements have been very helpful for him, for instance Northeastern requires students to take a semester-long course to prepare them for co-op, during which they work with advisers to prepare resumes, learn interview techniques and select companies to apply to. Mock interviews are done with older students and as an older student, S has also been involved in those. For S, some of these non-academic life experiences will be just as important, if not more important than the academic ones.</p>
<p>[just wanted to add that although S has not received any accommodations while in college, the quality of disability services was also a consideration in selecting a college for him - just in case, and Northeastern has been well ranked for the disability services it provides; the Disability Services director at NEU is very involved in post-secondary disability issues and has lectured and written about issues relating to many learning disabilities including Asperger’s so this was another selling point for me (she recently even co-authored a book for college personnel specifically designed to help educate colleges on providing supports for students with Asperger’s).]</p>
<p>I am familiar with the University of Cincinnati’s coop program. It may surprise you that they were the first coop education program in the US. In fact, most of the other coop programs, until fairly recently referred to their own coop program as “the Cincinnati Plan.”</p>
<p>University of Cincinnati has their coop integrated into their whole program and culture. It isn’t just an adjunct to their academics as with some other schools.</p>
<p>Due to their longevity, they have a large number of opportunities all over the world. In addition, they have a well repuded business school as well. Definitely, check them out.</p>
<p>By the way, they are also a lot less expensive than schools like Northeastern or Drexel. In addition to lower tuition, you should ask about the carges that students pay for coops. At Cincinnati, it is about $250. At other schools, it could be in the thousands!</p>
<p>I don’t know too much about Drexel but I think that they are supposed to have a good business program.</p>
<p>Taxguy, what sort of co-op charges are you referring to? The only charges S has during his co-op periods are for room/board.</p>
<p>Scansmom, most coop schools have a charge for placing the kid with coop and holding their spot in the university while on coop, although I think that Northeastern doesn’t have fees. You really need to ask what these charges are. These charges are in addition to room and board and can be quite significant. It is a hidden charge that most schools never tell you about unless you ask.Some schools don’t charge for coops per se. They simply charge the normal or reduced tuiton. Drexel charges you for a whole year’s tution even though you are going to school for only two quarters ( out of three quarters) during coop. Again, you need to check out each school’s requirements.</p>
<p>Also, I did a review of Drexel that everyone should see in the college visit forum. I also reviewed Cincinnati too.</p>
<p>Northeastern has no charge for co-ops, unless they really sneak it into all of the other bills. I have paid absolutely nothing to the university while on co-op, and, looking at the breakdown of my bills for the semesters when I was not, right now I don’t see a charge. It’s possible that tuition charges are higher but I don’t think they’re higher than comparable schools. I’m looking at NU’s co-op FAQ right now, which says no tuition charge but a housing bill if you live on campus.</p>
<p>[Experiential</a> Education > Students > FAQ](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/experiential-learning/coop/students/faq.html]Experiential”>http://www.northeastern.edu/experiential-learning/coop/students/faq.html)</p>
<p>Also, NU’s website says that the average salary of co-op students who worked for six months of the academic year in 2008-2009 was $15,860. It really does tend to balance the other way.</p>
<p>Scansmom, I’ve had a similar experience to your son, where I’m not somebody who is automatically good at connecting to people and interviewing. I feel like being at NU has given me a ton of interview experience, and a resume, as well as work experience. I just feel much more familiar with the process than I would otherwise.</p>
<p>Eireann, you are right. Northeastern doesn’t charge fees per se. However, they have a fairly high tuition that might make up for it.</p>
<p>We visited RIT, where coops are required to graduate. After that visit, I got a little skeptical about RIT’s required coops. I got the impression, from speaking to a number of students there, that while some students were very happy with their coops, others felt obligated to accept less-than-thrilling coops in order to graduate.</p>
<p>A year of coop/internship actually costs money if the pay, though nice for a college student, is less than one would have earned in a year at one’s first job after graduating in four years.</p>
<p>Drexel has an excellent coop program. May local employers go them for business and engineering students. Their reputation is growing and selectivity is increasing. The campus (West Philly) is not so pretty…but it’s getting better with some newer construction recently. It seems to be coming out of a period where it lived in the “shadow of Penn” and is developing its own reputation as an excellent school. Especially in an economy like this one…</p>
<p>ADAD notes,"A year of coop/internship actually costs money if the pay, though nice for a college student, is less than one would have earned in a year at one’s first job after graduating in four years. "</p>
<p>Response; Yes, they do pay the kids less than normally paid for full-time staff,w hich is why companies offer coops. However, these kids get substantial experience for their resume that other kids don’t get, AND, they get connections for possible future jobs. In today’s economy, having a leg up with great real-world experience can be very benefical.Frankly, the pay is somewhat irrelevant. As long as it covers room and board, I am unconcerned with pay as long as the work provides great experience.</p>
<p>University of Waterloo. Highly regarded. Great co-op program. Relatively decent on the cost front. </p>
<p>Tremendous number of very interesting majors:</p>
<p>[Become</a> a Student | University of Waterloo](<a href=“Programs | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo”>Programs | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And extremely well known and successful co-op program:</p>
<p>[Become</a> a Student | University of Waterloo](<a href=“http://findoutmore.uwaterloo.ca/coop/]Become”>Co-op programs | Undergraduate Programs | University of Waterloo)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Living outside Philly, I’ve known many who did co-ops at Drexel.</p>
<p>Drexel has done co-ops for at least 25 years & has some great relationships, but students should be forwarned-- </p>
<p>Most schools do NOT assign you a co-op. </p>
<p>It is not like signing up for a course. The student will need to interview and once in the door put forth effort. </p>
<p>Can’t tell you how frustrated I get with the sense of entitlement of some kids that Drexel doesn’t live up to its rep. and they got a “lousy” co-op where they learned nothing.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A first-year job our of college can also provide great work experience, as well as a reasonable salary.</p>
<p>I am aware that the economy is bad and work experience is helpful. I am simply pointing out that the investment of a year of one’s life, and the accompanying loss of salary, is not to be taken lightly. Not all coops provide experiences worth that investment. Coops are not slamdunk obviously good for everyone.</p>
<p>UA Huntsville. Fab internships and Co-op at Cummings Research Park. UAH is located within CRP, so it’s no surprise that the techie students have great co-op/internships there. Plus the school gives generous merit scholarships for good stats.</p>
<p>Cummings Research Park - the second largest research park in the nation.
[Cummings</a> Research Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cummings_Research_Park]Cummings”>Cummings Research Park - Wikipedia)</p>