<p>Northeastern sounds great, especially since there is support for Aspergers. However, it is very pricey. Anyone know how easy it is to get merit aid at Northeastern? Does the co-op pay off set the high tuition costs?</p>
<p>Many colleges will have co-op programs, even if they are not required. Case Western Reserve has one, I needed to co-op to pay my way through college. Some business majors are included in the program, and they do give merit aid. No idea on the Aspergers support though. (And they never called it a “Cincinnati plan”!)</p>
<p>Just to be clear about Drexel “charging” you when you are on co-op:</p>
<p>If you are taking a 4 year program at Drexel, your tuition next year will be $38,000 - a total of $144,000 for 4 years</p>
<p>If you are taking a 5 year program at Drexel (an additional year of co-op), your tuition will be $30,800 next year - a total of $144,000 for the 5 years.</p>
<p>Your total tuition is the same, it’s just that when you are in a 5-year program, they spread the tuition over the 5 years.</p>
<p>Northeastern has offered a 4 year coop model in most programs for some time. Recently, the 4 year coop plan was made available as an option in all programs. The 4 year plan has 2 coop periods. The 5 year plan has 3 coop periods and is still available. </p>
<p>Northeastern and Drexel are private universities so their tuition will naturally be higher than at public Cincinnati. Out of state tuition a UCinn is about $25,000/year. At Northeastern, if you are in the top 25% of applicants, you will get a Dean’s Scholarship at a minumum that chops off $10,000 to $17,000 per year from the tuition.</p>
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<p>I agree with what you wrote, but there is more to it than that. </p>
<p>I’m a Northeastern alum. I had four employers (two 3 month work assignments and two 6 month work assignments) for a total of 18 months of experience. 15 months of that was in a supervisory capacity. So … what’s my point? </p>
<p>When I was hired out of Northeastern I was hired as a supervisor with a staff of 10 (including three exempt analysts). I wasn’t competing against graduating seniors entering the work force for a job, I was competing against those already in the work force. Without my supervisory experience I wouldn’t have had a chance at that job. </p>
<p>In a great economy, a kid can come out of a college and get an entry level job usually as an individual contributor. But, depending on the career/company, it could be years before someone gets the supervisory experience I had in college. So, there’s a lot more to it than just looking at the first year in the work force. </p>
<p>It’s also of value to know what floats your boat and what doesn’t. You can chase salaries but the years will be long if you don’t like what you’re doing. I know plenty of guys that came back from auditing work for the big accounting firms at Northeastern that said they never wanted to do that another day in their lives. Conversely, I knew guys who went the four year college route that went for their M.B.A. (after working for a big accounting firm doing auditing for a few years) as a way out of ever doing auditing another day in their lives. Personally, I’d rather learn that in college. ;)</p>
<p>I work at a financial company in Boston. Our Northeastern coops work as receptions and file clerks. Nothing glamourous.</p>
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<p>And I agree with what both you and netthreat wrote. :)</p>
<p>Coops can be excellent, worthwhile–or not.</p>
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<p>Well, I guess this is the ‘put up or shut up’ moment. What financial company in Boston has a Northeastern student on co-op assignment working as a receptionist?</p>
<p>tomsrofboston notes,“Northeastern and Drexel are private universities so their tuition will naturally be higher than at public Cincinnati. Out of state tuition a UCinn is about $25,000/year. At Northeastern, if you are in the top 25% of applicants, you will get a Dean’s Scholarship at a minumum that chops off $10,000 to $17,000 per year from the tuition”</p>
<p>Response: UC also gives scholarships. In fact, the minimum would be around $2,000 per year. In addition, it is very possible , because we did it, to get in state tuition in the future for an otherwise out of state kid. It does take some planning,but it is doable.</p>
<p>mammabear1234, see if you can find someone at Northeastern who has some knowledge of the school’s instituional memory.Although I could be in error, I believe that they did call it the Cincinnati plan a while back which is what most schools called it when they instituted their own coop program. Don’t forget , Cincinnati was the first school to formalize an integrated coop program into their curriculum.</p>
<p>My memory of Northeastern goes back to 1969. Back then, UCinc was given credit for being the first school to have coop but it was not called the “Cincinnati Plan”.</p>
<p>@netthreat:
Does any company still have “file clerks”? If so, your company needs to get into the electronic age.</p>
<p>Taxguy,</p>
<p>I really don’t know where you’re going with this ‘Cincinnati Plan’ stuff. When I was at Northeastern, that Drexel had a co-op program was common knowledge. While at Northeastern, I never even heard anybody mention University of Cincinnati as a school let alone for having a co-op program. It’s not what UCINN did in 1906 that’s important, it’s what the opportunities are for a student now. At Northeastern, co-operative education is front and center (literally) on their home page because it is front and center at the university. At U of Cincinnati’s web site it’s not and upon digging for it the co-op info is in the form of article links. </p>
<p>Compare that to this:</p>
<p>[Experiential</a> Learning | Northeastern University](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/experiential-learning/]Experiential”>Experiential Learning)</p>
<p>However, if University of Cincinnati provides a great learning experience at an affordable cost, more power to them. Northeastern’s merit aid is much more than ‘named’ scholarships. For students interested in the reality of that, don’t listen to me, get yourself over to Northeastern’s Facebook page for the class of 2014-15 and reach out to some kids and ask them. Not just merit money but also financial grant money too. You could also reach out to current students and find out more about the reality of their co-op experiences.</p>
<p>ctyankee, I am NOT making any assertion that Cincinnati had the better coop than that of Northeastern, so I don’t know why you are getting defensive. However, they were the first school in the US that instituted the Cincinnati program ,which is why it was called the “Cincinnati plan” by many schools that implemented it. In fact, Wiklpedia itself called it “the Cincinnati Plan.”
Here is what Wikipedia notes,"Professional Practice Program</p>
<p>UC is the originator of the co-operative education (co-op) model. The program generally consists of alternating periods of coursework on campus and outside work at a host firm, giving students over one year of relevant work experience by the time they graduate. The concept was invented at UC in 1906 by Herman Schneider, Dean of the College of Engineering at the time. For some time, this system was called “The Cincinnati Plan.” Ranked third in the U.S., UC’s Professional Practice (Co-op) Program is the largest co-op program at any public institution in the United States with nearly 5,000 participating students at over 2,000 companies in 43 countries."</p>
<p>Again, I am NOT comparing Cincinnati with either Northeastern or Drexel or that of any other program. I am NOT making any quality statements. I am simply citing facts that Cincinnati’s program was the forerunner for all of them, and it was referred to by many schools as “The Cincinnati Plan.”</p>
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<p>I’m not getting defensive, I’m putting the offense on the field. I’ve had it with points about unnamed schools hiding co-op charges rather than charging them up-front. Or comments like ‘most co-op schools have these fees’ like you know what most schools do. When someone (correctly) pointed out that Northeastern does not have those fees, you comment about Northeastern somehow accommodating those charges in its high tuition. When someone points out that Northeastern has generous merit aid reducing out-of-pocket costs it’s not ‘that’s great to hear’ it’s ‘well Cincinnati does that and more.’ </p>
<p>If you want to be an advocate for Cincinnati, that’s great. No problem. Just drop the comparisons to Northeastern as the two schools aren’t targeting many of the same kids.</p>
<p>ctyankee, I NEVER said anything about Northeastern charging fees. In fact, in post 11, I said , and I quote, " although I think that Northeastern doesn’t have fees"</p>
<p>All I suggested about all schools is to check to see if they do charge fees or tuition, Maybe they don’t charge. I never, ever said thatI knew for sure; thus, why go on the offense… There are many schools besides Northeastern that has an integrated coop plan. My only point is to check what these school charge, if any, for these coops. I see nothing wrong with making that suggestion. Again, I am NOT targeting Northeastern in any way!</p>
<p>“Does the co-op pay off set the high tuition costs?”</p>
<p>It depends on the co-op. My daughter is in her 4th year at Northeastern. Her co-op, in a science research lab at Harvard, pays very little. Harvard apparently thinks one can live on prestige alone 
and in fact that’s why she’s there: to eventually be published as the co-author of a Harvard research project. </p>
<p>She’s known kids who make very good money in their engineering co-ops. We’ve also heard about kids who end up working retail when they fail to get a good position (I think they call that no-op, lol.) She has friends who co-oped overseas, or who only did 1 co-op and graduated in 4 years. The co-op experience is varied, and its “worth” somewhat dependent on the major and the individual student’s own personality and ingenuity.</p>
<p>Here’s a thread I started after my son and I visited Drexel. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/792567-colleges-like-drexel.html?highlight=coop+schools[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/792567-colleges-like-drexel.html?highlight=coop+schools</a></p>
<p>This topic caught my eye as I’m a big believer in internships and co-op programs. I’m a graduate of UC (BS Graphic Design) and the 5-year co-op program. I loved it and was able to find co-op positions during a down economy. I am very satisfied with the young grads that I now hire from UC with six quarters of work experience.</p>
<p>My D attends a school which offers the opportunity to co-op but it is not heavily advertised. She made her own program with 4 semesters of engineering co-ops. My S planned his internships to fit into the summers. They were all good, well paid experiences.</p>
<p>If interested here is a direct link to UC/co-op site: [UC</a> COOP - Coop @ UC](<a href=“http://www.uc.edu/propractice/uccoop.htm]UC”>http://www.uc.edu/propractice/uccoop.htm)</p>
<p>Also this has student generated information: [100</a> Cool Co-ops - Division of Professional Practice - University of Cincinnati](<a href=“http://www.uc.edu/coolco-ops/view.aspx#]100”>http://www.uc.edu/coolco-ops/view.aspx#)</p>
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<p>I completely agree. You still need to interview and compete with other candidates for opportunities. Some majors get hot … some get cold - much like the general job market.</p>
<p>In Phila, (like Drexel) Saint Joe’s U offers co-op in its business programs. Usually offered in a 4 year program and not five. Varies by major.</p>