Do Co-ops make college cheaper?

State Forums
1

I got accepted to Northeastern University and the price is very high, about $52,000 a year for me. But they said that students are given the chance to take a co-op for 6 months in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year. This way the price of the semester is cut in half. So for the year, I would save 1/4 of the price of tuition just by taking a co-op for those 6 months. So instead of paying $52,000 for the year, I would only have to pay $38,000? Instead of a total of $208,000 (52,000 * 4), with co-ops, I would only have to pay $166,000
(52,000 + 38,000*3)? Is that how Northeastern works? Do other colleges also work that way?

2

That is not how Northeastern works. When you’re on co-op, you don’t take classes. To make up for that, you have to go to class during the summer. Therefore, you still pay the same tuition, just at a different time. You also don’t pay tuition while you’re on co-op.
More info: https://careers.northeastern.edu/students/student-co-op/co-op-options/
As for other colleges, Drexel has a pretty notable co-op program that works similarly. You can take either 1 or 3 co-ops on either a 4 or 5 year plan. You pay no tuition during co-op, but take summer classes to make up for the class time you’re missing.

3

There will be no guarantee of internships in a environment of mass unemployment and huge company cut backs. What affordable options do you have? What is your major?

4

Agreed. My D is a co-op student at Purdue. She will still need 8 semesters on campus to graduate so the COA is the COA.

I also agree wtih @Sybylla that I wouldn’t rely on co-op or internship income to offset any costs in the current environment.

My D’s co-op is still a go but she has a few friends who have gotten their programs delayed for an entire semester, or in one case, for the year. If they were counting on that money to offset tuition, they’d be in a heap of trouble.

5

And you can do an internship from any college, you organize it yourself. You can attend your local affordable 4 yr and do an internship in any semester or summer.

6

The rule of thumb is that your coop earnings should cover the cost of living while on coop and provide you with spending money for the next academic term. If you live at home while on coop then you would be able to save much more of your earnings.

Also the earliest you would have a coop period is Spring semester of your sophomore year.