<p>This is probably a very common question haha. I have been searching around the internet and some people says it does help but others say it does not. I could try to break this down into numbers and rationalize everything, but I don't think that would help. I just would like to know from actual students if the co-op actually helps pay for tuition. Thanks!</p>
<p>I haven’t done co-op yet, but the extent to which co-op money makes a dent in paying for tuition is entirely dependent on your major and what kind of co-op. Business and Engineering majors definitely make a whole lot more than most other majors. (Although I do know an anthro major who got a really good co-op who said it definitely helped pay off some tuition bills.)</p>
<p>Probably not. </p>
<p>The big expense as a student is rent. If you live in dorms, a shared bedroom breaks down to somewhere between $830-$1100/month. In off-campus areas nearby you can get your own bedroom for around $900, on mission hill it’s about $750.</p>
<p>Next is how much you make. I’d say on average, depending on major/field, people make around $10-15/hr. After taxes, that’s going to equal out to be somewhere between $8000-$12000 of income in 6 months. </p>
<p>Pretend you’re the guy making $9,000 after taxes, so your monthly income is $1500. Based on the people I know, cost of living in a month might be something like this:</p>
<p>Rent: $750
Utilities: $40
Cable/internet: $30
Food: $200
Transportation: $20
Other: $50
=$1090</p>
<p>This leaves $410 a month to save, a 6mo saving of $2460, which doesn’t really make a dent in tuition… plus you’ll probably want to have some money saved for when you’re in classes and aren’t able to work full-time. </p>
<p>Co-op could cover basic expenses (pretty easily) and rent (less easily, especially if you don’t want to live in mission hill), but don’t expect it to cover much, if any, tuition.</p>
<p>edit*on a side note, blink is right in a sense… if you live on campus, “rent” goes straight to your tuition bill. So sure, you could be writing your parents (or whoever pays the billz) an $800 check each month, which would probably help pay the monthly bill. I just took “tuition” to mean straight cost of attending northeastern/classes.</p>
<p>Yeah, clearly there isn’t much to say after that haha. But just to agree, my co-op made me about 1500 a month after taxes (I’m economics btw, and that was a pretty well paying coop too). My rent is 1300 without utilities, about 1400 with. You very quickly learn living on your own just how much money it takes to feed yourself (emily’s 200 wasn’t an overstatement, and that’s IF you are good about not eating out too much), buy random essentials (ex: shampoo), and allow yourself to see a movie or two or similar entertainment expenditures. So… my co-op money would barely help me live nevertheless actually start paying for tuition. </p>
<p>That’s why people move back home after college (free/reduced rent). If you don’t, you better hope you get a job that pays more than a coop, cause if not those loan payments will not be friendly to you.</p>
<p>Oh, and emily, an enhanced double (so west village area for example) is almost $5000 for less than four months. That means it’s around 1200 a month for most upperclassmen (around 1350 for a single). Hence why people move off campus.</p>
<p>You do get 3 six month breaks from paying tuition though, which helps.</p>
<p>Doesn’t really help with loans, if you don’t start paying off your interest while you’re still in school (which you should).</p>