I just wanted to double check on this for my son, he is a freshman chemE major. His dream company offered him a coop for the fall 2016, summer 2017, and spring 2018 he really wants to accept the offer. Is there anything negative that he should be aware of or possibly encounter with co-ops in general? It seems to good to be true. Since it is Spring break, the co-op office is closed there isn’t anyone to email questions regarding this. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
If this offer is from his dream offer, definitely go for it. My kids chose NOT to do coops, even though I encouraged them to look into it as I think they are wonderful opportunities. Their reasons were basically that they would extend graduation by one year (although tuition costs do stay the same and you are being paid, they lose a full-time salary for that year), they would be on a different track than their friends, and in the case of my UA boys, they would miss a football season. The last downside would be the difficulty of finding part-time housing (if not near home or campus), and the possibility of being the only intern their age at the company. I know I heard of someone on CC last year who was the only intern at a company last summer so he had really no one to hang out with after work. Now my son interned at a company with loads of interns his age (he did not coop) and had the time of his life. So if there are others his age, this could be an upside too. Good luck to your son.
One other thing, have your son double-check the classes that he needs for his ChemE major and make sure that he can get the classes that he needs in the semesters that he is there. I know some engineering classes are only offered in Fall or Spring and if you miss them, you can be put behind. I am not sure if this is the case for his major, but have him map out his classes so he knows now if there will be any problems.
since so many college students can’t find jobs when they graduate, I would think that any opportunity to get valuable work experience during college, and at your dream company no less, should be taken advantage of. I would imagine a co-op would get your son an inside track at getting hired at his dream company. I would do it. make sure you thoroughly research all of the ramifications such as delayed graduation, etc. IMO the advantages it would give toward getting a good job would outweigh any potential negatives.
Since it’s his dream company, he should try to make this work, but do check with ChemE to make sure his classes are offered when he’ll be on campus.
Another consideration is housing while he’s on campus and when he’s not. If he’ll be living off-campus during this time, his lease will be for a year, so subletting can be a problem…
There almost needs to be a group that helps co-op kids coordinate housing.
@UAHousing Have you thought of offering “one semester” contracts for those who are doing co-ops? I know that housing isn’t plentiful for upper-classmen.
This a bad year for chem Es. Take the job. Pay his rent, if necessary.
The guys I knew who co-oped made sure they were on campus for football season. 
How exciting! I concur that he should go for it! (but I’m laughing OL about burgermeister’s comment to continue to pay his rent…that has been an ‘option’ of ours before, lol!)
You can go onto mybama and research past semesters, to see which courses were offered, especially during the summer, if he decides to go to school in the summer to keep up, for example. These summer classes will be limited, especially in the upper division, tho.
I’m sure you already know that a co-op student who is only 18 or 19 years old will require a different level of support to one who is 20 or older. Depending on where the co-op is located, you may have to support your student much more than when they were freshmen in school, in terms of them having a car/transportation, signing their short-term lease in a new city (and furnishing it?), getting utilities set up, moving several times, etc. I had to do all of that support for my son on summer internships, because legally he could sign for nothing. It can be challenging to find short-term (3-mo) housing options. PM me if you want help when you get to that point to hear about our experiences over 2 different summers in 2 different states.
In addition to the adviser for course sequencing, and the housing, the Co-op office adviser should be of assistance in perhaps coordinating an alternating Co-op student - with Tuscaloosa/UA housing and with housing at co-op job site. Some companies do provide housing - for example my nephew shared a 2 BR apt paid for by co-op employer - all their co-ops were at this apt complex. Some employers may provide a housing stipend. The job experience is valuable. Congrats.
So the way co-op is structured it works perfectly for engineering majors. You co-op typically for 1 fall, 1 spring and 1 summer so that it does not affect their fall only classes or spring only classes. I am curious what company your son got. I have multiple friends co-oping as ChemE’s right now. I am a MechE currently co-oping with Alaska Airlines. I started my co-op second semester of sophomore year. I can not think of anything negative to say about the experience. The only thing I wish I had known was to wait to do it later. I wish I had more classes under my belt before starting work. However if your son knows much about heat transfer or mass balance, he should be okay according to my ChemE friends. If you want to PM me the company, I can see if one of my friends is working for them. Then your son could ask them any questions. Co-oping is intimidating but graduating a year late with your foot in the door at you dream company makes it totally worth it. I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have!
@bamagirl18 I would say that sometimes learning something thru a job before taking the classroom educational end is good.
I remember Interning at Inland Steel between Junior and Senior year and then taking a class on steel making/plate rolling/continuous casting, etc. My exposure to these processes made the class interesting and I learned way more because I could visualize it’s use.
Somewhat the same as when I went back to get my MBA after working for 7 years. I was able to see how what I had been involved in had some theoretical basis.
Just my thoughts about why exposure before book learning can be good.
No direct experience on this issue but wanted to congratulate you and your son! And I’m glad you asked the question. Wishing him all the best.
Quick question
Why would someone graduate a year late if they do a co-op? I understand you wouldn’t take a full 15 credits worth of classes but do you not take classes at all while co-oping?
Not if you’re in another city.
Co-ops are usually full-time employment (8-5, M-F), so no, most people are unable to fit in classes.
I would also get confirmation on this:
My son’s co-op began the summer (2015) after his freshman year; the second session is now (Spring 2016); he’ll have to take a class over the summer; and then he’ll complete his co-op this fall (2016). My understanding is this is how it’s normally configured, although I’m sure there are exceptions.
He commutes from T-Town to his job in AL and will not miss a single football season. In fact he’ll get a fifth season because he will need a fifth year to graduate in 8 semesters. Co-op jobs are full-time jobs. Some kids take an online class, but I’m not sure I’d try to do anything beyond that. And obviously if your student has a lot of credits, he may be able to graduate on time.
Even with that fifth year, we’re delighted our son chose to do the co-op. That was our preference for him, and I’ve never read of any true downside careerwise. I know some people worry about that “lost year of income” as a graduate, but who knows what life holds? Too many variable in life to worry about that as far as I’m concerned. (Family leave for new babies, illness, etc.)
More info here: http://coop.eng.ua.edu/aboutcoop/
They’re very receptive to calls or emails, so don’t hesitate to contact them for clarification.
Also, when we were researching colleges, this article really informed my thinking about co-ops:
And it confirmed what I’d seen in my own family. My young relatives who did co-ops had great jobs waiting for them at graduation and have never looked back.
Obviously, it’s not for everybody (especially those planning to go to grad school or who are able to obtain internships on their own), but for the average engineering student, I think it’s a tremendous opportunity.
Thanks for all of your feedback!! It appears that housing is going to be the biggest issue, my son said it was not included. It is a bit overwhelming that he needs to find temporary housing in Birmingham and TTown. This means short term leases on an apartment in Birmingham (Fall 2016, Summer 2017, and Spring 2018) and sub leases in Ttown for Spring 2017 and Fall 2017. That’s going to take some work! He did reach out to a student that is currently co-oping with the company to find out what he did for housing. He needs to make a decision by Friday.
It’s only about a 50-minute drive to Birmingham from Tuscaloosa, so it may make the most sense to just get a regular, 12-month lease in Tuscaloosa and have him make the drive.
We scrambled to find my son housing for last summer, because the lease for his off-campus apartment didn’t start until this past fall, but he’s been driving from T-town this semester and will do the same next fall. It’s much further than Birmingham too, if that’s any consolation. It’s kind of the norm down there from what I gather. (Your son will need a car, to do that, obviously!)
Every deal is different. My firm pays rent for co-ops who need support. Meanwhile my 18 year old lands a low paying job on Wall Street. I felt “taken” but paid his rent anyway. It was a good investment and a small one in the grand scheme of things. College would not have been possible for me 40 years ago without coop. Coop set me apart from the other guys.