Internship vs Co-op?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My son has been accepted into a few different engineering schools for the fall of 2013. Most of the schools offer co-ops and one does not. All schools are academically about on par. As far as cost goes, there is no major difference (after factoring in the projected earnings at a Co-op). </p>

<p>It was my belief that co-ops gave a student an advantage when entering the job market. After speaking to my nephew today that attended one of these schools today he had a much different experience. </p>

<p>How much weight should we put in the co-op program, if any?</p>

<p>Does a school with internships and a 4 year program outweigh the benefits of a co-op and 5 year program?</p>

<p>I would like to hear some experience with both positive and negative for each. </p>

<p>I intentionally did not mention the names of any schools. I am only concerned about co-op vs. internship/clinical projects.</p>

2

<p>I think this is mostly a matter of personal preference for the student, if the schools in question are otherwise equal. Good schools of both types have proven track records in getting their students hired at graduation.
Does the student want to interrupt their on-campus experience to work? Some students would prefer to break up their academic work this way. Others might not like the disruption.
My son was not interested in the co-op approach at all, and would prefer to rely on summer internships to gain work experience and use a 5th year to complete a Master’s degree.<br>
But I can see why others would want to choose a co-op school.
So it the student doesn’t have a preference one way or the other, use other criteria to choose a school.</p>