<p>My S is accepted at both Drexel and Northeastern into 5 yr coop programs for Environmental engineering at Drexel and Civil Engineering at NEU..Comparable packages..he likes both the same..How does he choose?</p>
<p>We have been to the accepted students day at Drexel and plan to attend the one at NEU in 2 weeks. </p>
<p>Is the Coop placement in these 2 fields noticably better at one U or the other?</p>
<p>Also He is offered the NUin program where he would spend the first semester in Austrailia...any input or info from anyone with experience in that... Sounds like an exciting way to start a college experience.</p>
<p>I realize these are kind of specific questions but we love both Philly and Boston...and both campus environments seem similar. NEU is closer to home and that may be both a Good and a Bad thing not sure...</p>
<p>What about the social scene at the 2 schools..</p>
<p>If a student believes they would want to work in a certain metro area after graduation, that could swing a decision one way or another. That is because the co-op opportunities often lead to a full-time job, and each college’s alumni network is more concentrated in the surrounding area, which maximizes networking benefits.</p>
<p>following up on the last post, at NEU, at least, many (perhaps even most) co-op jobs are very regional/close to campus and many students remain in campus dorms or off-campus apartments during their co-op period. Engineering co-op placement is supposed to be very close to 100%.</p>
<p>great to hear about the coop placement rate… and I will pass along the concepts regarding networking and after graduation employment probabilities. He does have a bit of a scientific and math bend to his decision making tree.</p>
<p>One of his HS teachers suggested that it is often beneficial for a students to “go away” to college. This would lean toward Drexel since we live in Massachusetts.</p>
<p>the price and aid packages are so close as to make little difference…Granted neither will be easy to swing but the hope is that with a CO-op program he will be closer to gaining real employment after graduation than he might otherwise be without a co-op program…</p>
<p>Cocochef, I think the going away to college concept is very personal. All three of my kids chose colleges a minimum of 7 hours away and each found (is finding) the “away” experience to be enriching. We believe that the college years are an excellent time to immerse yourself in a different part of the country. There is nothing like living someplace else to understand how different, yet the same we all are. It also gives them wings and makes them realize that they can survive and thrive away from their comfort zone. </p>
<p>There are drawbacks, one of them being that many colleges do mostly connect with area employers instead of National ones. This is more the case with smaller colleges in smaller towns. Drexel, like NEU is in a huge city and has connections with companies in the Philadelphia area as well as National ones. [SCDC:</a> Steinbright Career Development Center](<a href=“http://www.drexel.edu/scdc/coop/nationalMap.html]SCDC:”>http://www.drexel.edu/scdc/coop/nationalMap.html)</p>
<p>Last year my son was admitted to NUin which meant he had to go overseas for a semester. The cost of that program seemed to add close to $10K to the overall cost of the year of college. From what I recall, I am not sure that he would have earned any credits towards his major. Thus, you should check into the requirements and cost of the NUin program. While we didn’t mind the January admit, it kind of bugged me that they required the first semester abroad. </p>
<p>OTOH, NU is higher ranked (if that matters) and I have heard it spoken of as “better” than Drexel but that could just be the perception in my NY city suburb. NU also allowed completion of the program in 4 years with the same tuition as 5 years, while Drexel either required 5 years or charged more in tuition for the 4-year program. Or at least that is what I found last year.</p>
<p>Neither school gave enough money that it was worth the cost over our State U. My son would have definitely picked NU if finances were not an issue as he loved it. </p>
<p>I think his inital preference is for the environmental engineering which Drexel seems to have a better specific curriculum for although the NEU program has mostly a civil engineering focus with some environmental classes tossed in. but the NU campus and location seem more desirable and the “name” recognition in New England (North of Boston) is higher for Northeastern than for Drexel</p>
<p>The NUin program does require the first semester abroad yes at a higher cost but the classes taken are credited to the NU degree and on topic for the CE degree. when he starts at Boston in January he will not be behind academically according to the info on the web. Austrailia could be a good break between the HS and College experience if he ends up being this close to home. </p>
<p>Should he realize after the first year or first coop that civil is not for him then it seems Drexel has a broader spectrum of engineering options but NEU has broader choices in business and some other fields of study…</p>
<p>I am probably biased , but the program at NEU is outstanding. I live in closer proximity to Philly , but my roots are from Mass and because of this , favor Boston as a desirable city to be in for many reasons…don’t see the appeal of Philly whatsoever
Also , my daughter is a student at NEU ( not in engineering , but her best friend is a civil engineer major ) Opportunities are endless in the area.</p>
<p>According to my son (a grad student in civil engineering who toyed with majoring in environmental engineering as an undergrad), environmental engineering majors are too limited and one is better off majoring in civil. Something you might want to explore.</p>
Civil Engineering is a broad field with a lot of subfields - structural, environmental, hydrology, construction management, transportation engineering, etc. In general, the first 2 years are similar for most engineering fields. Junior year civil engineering covers much of the various subfields, and senior year students choose a specialty (not “some environmental classes tossed in”, lol). Many students will go on at some point to pursue a master’s degree in their specialty. </p>
<p>The NEU program appears to be very much along the traditional CE lines, and your S might well end up wanting more classes in his specialty field. OTOH, having one specialty doesn’t automatically rule out job possibilities in the other subfields (although structural would be a challenge). </p>
<p>The Drexel program is VERY environmental engineering oriented, and would not leave open the door to other CE fields. At the same time, it might be more comprehensive and not need the additional master’s degree.</p>
<p>“going away” for college is not that big of a deal…My D1 lives at a school i can be at in 20 minutes without traffic,lol… Though she could be as far away as a plane flight, as we don’t go there unless asked, or she wants to come home for the weekend …do 't worry about the proximity to home being a concern…</p>
<p>Living in the Philly area, Drexel is an up and comer school, lots of money being invested in infrastructure in the area, also next to U Penn, which is spending big money transforming the area…That said, Boston is likley the best college city in the country…you can’t go wrong with either location</p>
<p>But NEU does offer Environmental as a subdiscipline (the dept is even called Civil AND Environmental), which means that the upper level courses are specifically concentrated in Environmental. If you took that route, I am not sure how much difference there really would be in the actual curriculum at both schools.</p>
<p>This input is very helpful Thanks bunches. I will especially share with him the commentary about Environmental potentially being too specialised and may preclude some branching out into other employment areas later on in a way that the more general degree of civil might not YET specialising may eliminate the need for future grad school work if he truly loves the environmental gig…very difficult to see past this coming fall much less possibly 5 years in the future… again thanks for commenting</p>
<p>He decided after the admit students day at Northeastern that his co op placement work with professors who might know himand his aptitudes and that have relationship withthe engineering firms seeking students would be a better placement model than perhaps working with HR generalists who work with stidents from all majors and may only know what is presented on a resume. The specialization of this process swung him to the NU camp. true in the real world when seeking opps he may need to go through some HR generalists from time to time but all of my best jobs and his fathers have been found working with folks actually in our field. Both schools seem so close re location facilities and academics and cost it was difficult to choose but that was his deciding factor. Quite frankly even with the first semester in Australia I will be glad to have him only 1/2 an hour away when he gets back.</p>
<p>I know a student who was in the first-semester abroad program last fall in Australia and she loved it.</p>
<p>Re:away - it is more a state of mind than anything. I went to college about 15 minutes from home and to me it seemed like another world. My son chose a school about 40 minutes away and he feels the same way. He did like being able to come home a few times in the fall when most of his new friends also left campus, but after that we hardly saw him at all.
I think Boston is a better overall environment for college students than Philly.
And the name recognition in this area is much higher for Northeastern than Drexel. So if he plans to stay in this area, it is a better choice.
Glad to hear he is leaning that way :-)</p>