I strongly recommend doing the coop. The reservations that the OP mentions would not be an issue at a school like Northeastern or Drexel where the school is designed around coop.
Exactly, @TomSrOfBoston. I was actually thinking specifically of my niece (a Drexel grad) when we were investigating colleges for my son (who wasn’t even sure he wanted to do engineering at the time). Her program was five years, but offered a variety of shorter co-ops. She has done VERY well as a woman in CS, so paying off her Drexel debt wasn’t a big issue, but even with a sizable merit scholarship, the family had to take out loans to help her pay for her degree.
My nephew, OTOH, went to UCF on Bright Futures (?). I’m not sure how long it took him to complete his degree, but I do know he switched from engineering to IT during the process. He was hired after graduation by the same firm he co-oped for, a FORTUNE 500 company, I believe.
Re housing, it really varies. Some students win the lottery and get everything (stipend, housing, and sometimes other benefits); others receive a set amount for housing or are offered company housing. My son was offered none of the above, but his is also (theoretically!) within driving distance.
In retrospect, I would say don’t feel pressured if after freshman year you don’t find a match you’re comfortable with; my son was worried he’d be passing on a great opportunity and regret it later as we were agonizing over the location, his relative lack of experience, etc., and we have no regrets with his decision to accept this company’s offer, but I’m pretty confident he would have had as many, if not more (and possibly better), options if he’d waited until sophomore year to apply.
In the OP’s case, this is his “dream company.” I’d probably jump through a LOT of hoops to make that happen. 
@amazondotmom, I forgot it’s spring break (my son is working this week (another potential “downside” to doing a co-op), but if you send me a PM, I can try to get you in touch with one of the co-op staff who is a member of the Engineering Parents FB page I belong to.
Hi - I’m the Coordinator for the Co-op program. Co-ops can start any semester and then they alternate. So a start in Fall 2016, Summer 2017 and Spring 2018 would be correct.
@amazondotmom Hi - I’m the Coordinator with the Co-op Program and had another parent contact me in reference to this thread. In terms of the sequencing for classes, you’ve gotten great feedback from others in regards to having your son work with his academic advisor on that part.
Nearly all of the companies we come in contact with tell us they recruit (for full-time employment after graduation) students with co-op experience first, then those who have internship experience, and then those with high GPA. So it is very much a beneficial experience. I have to meet with each student after their first work semester and without fail they all say they understand their classes better, as well as having developed better time management skills. That’s just a touch of the feedback I get.
Sometimes it adds an extra year, sometimes only an extra semester, and sometimes it doesn’t add any extra time at all, depending on how willing students are to take classes in a summer semester or take an extra class during the regular semesters. We have several of our Co-op Ambassadors this year who are finishing in 4 years, after completing three semesters of co-op. All of those students have jobs that they have signed agreements to take after graduation as well…and some of those with are their co-op employers.
In regards to housing, we have students who commute to Birmingham sometimes. If you haven’t signed a lease for next year already, I’ll share a story about one of our co-op ambassadors that might intrigue you. He was offered his position after his freshman year. From then, until the time he finished his co-op (this past summer) he didn’t sign another lease. He simply used our Co-op Listserv, which I can discuss more with your son after Spring Break if he decides to accept, and emailed saying he needed somewhere to sublease each time he was set to return to campus. Each time he found someone who needed a roommate and was willing to sublease to him for that semester only. So, to wrap up, he lived on campus freshman year and then signed his next lease this year…his senior year. It does work itself out.
I know I work in the Co-op office, so of course I’m biased, but I’ve also been on the outside too. I was an academic advisor in the College of Engineering before becoming Coordinator with the Co-op Program. The students I advised came in to meet with me and consistently described how valuable their experience was to them and what job they had landed before graduation.
I’ll be glad to work with your son after the break if he needs any further information. Have a great rest of your day and Roll Tide!
^^ And people wonder why we rave about UA! [/kvelling]
@Tide4CoOp Hi and thanks for the great feedback. My family are constantly mocking my semi obsession with College confidential but its posts like yours that keep me coming back.
You mentioned an example of a student getting a CoOp at the end of their Freshman year. Is this relatively common? Specific for certain degrees? And is there any advice you can give on how a student can set themselves apart from the crowd when applying for these positions? Thanks
@britchick1 - my advice for any freshman is to get involved and engaged from the very start of their college experience with things you are passionate about. You will need letters of recommendation for pretty much any job/co-op/scholarship/opportunity you go for, so interacting with people who can vouch for your work ethic, knowledge, and passions will always be helpful to you. Achieving and keeping a strong GPA goes without saying. Visiting the co-op office and the various career fairs they have (with a prepared resume) is important. Good luck with your studies!
@Tide4CoOp One question: If a student does a Spring/Fall/Summer Co-op are they expected to take summer classes between the initial Spring Co-op and the ensuing Fall Co-op?
If they are, can they take a class at a local Community College? If no CC and they take a distance learning class (so can live at home over the summer) would the student have to pay OOS tuition? We are from IL.
Could you give more insight on the Co-op Listserv? Do students who Co-op in Spring of Sophomore year post their available units on this list? This sounds good and was not mentioned during our visit.
BTW, as I said in an earlier post, when I interned at Inland Steel between Junior and Senior year, it really helped me understand the book learning upon my return. The comments you here are not surprising!
@Tide4CoOp Do students in majors other than engineering (e.g. business, supply chain) participate in the Co-op program? If so how easy is it for them to find a placement?
Out of curiosity since I’m over a thousand miles away from Tuscaloosa…how difficult is it to find a car in the local area when the time comes that I need one for off-campus living or working in a co-op? Does anyone have experience with this situation?
There’s a Carmax in Hoover. I trust them completely for new-ish used cars. For a beater, tho, I’m sure there are plenty of cars in a college town!
Forgot to mention, others can post here about the requirements to take title of a car OOS. There may be age restrictions, and you may need to have an AL drivers license? I’m just not sure what the process is for a young person to buy/own a car.
@atomicPACMAN07, I agree it’s not hard to find a used car in T-Town, but there’s a lot to think about with regard to registration, insurance, etc.
We went back and forth on where to buy a car last spring for our son’s summer internship, but we finally purchased a car at home in PA, so we could get him what we wanted as quickly as possible (we were under very tight time constraints) and so we could keep him on our insurance. It’s tagged and registered here and he drives with his PA license.
If you’d be purchasing the car on your own without your parents’ help, it might make more sense to get it in Tuscaloosa as it may save you money, but the only way to know is to research everything before you buy.
My son was offered and accepted a co-op job last spring. His first work rotation was Fall 2015. His job is in Montgomery about 1.5 hrs from Tuscaloosa. Our main issue was short-term housing. We opted to rent a “corporate” apartment from mid-August to mid-December. This way it was completely furnished and we didn’t have to set-up utilities. It was expensive but seemed like the best option. The company did offer him a $500/mo housing allowance.
He was able to sublease an apt in Tuscaloosa for the current spring semester.
He went back to Tuscaloosa every weekend in the fall and went to every football game. He just stayed with friends. He did not like living alone in Montgomery as the other co-op student was from Auburn and commuted. My son will have his second rotation this summer and is looking for a roommate through the ListServ program. If not, he is going to consider commuting.
The work experience is great and I would definitely recommend it.
@Britchick1 @CyclonesGrad @AlbionGirl I’m going to try to answer all of your questions at one time. So, here we got.
In regards to freshman getting positions: Rising sophomores (those finishing up their freshman year) do secure positions after Interview Day in the Spring. However, many times companies will tell them they want to see them interview again in the fall semester, if they’re able to get on the employers interview schedule. I would necessarily say there is a specific way to set themselves apart. At this point in their “college career” employers know they have little/no experience, other than probably working a part-time job in high school. So, most of the time it is about seeing who would be a good fit at the company and have they already acquired a set of skills that would make them valuable to the company at this point.
Summer classes: Yes - students are expected to make some form of academic progress during the summer semester between working a Spring and the following Fall. This can be a class at UA, a class at a local community college, a study abroad, etc.
Co-op ListServ - This is just an internet discussion list that students can sign up for. From there they can send an email to that account and it will go out to around 300 other co-op students. It’s just a good way for them to put information out there that they are wanting to sublease an apartment from someone, or looking for someone to sublease their own. Some also use it to sell football tickets, basketball tickets, etc.
Other majors besides Engineering: We do have other majors besides engineering. Some of our companies that come to recruit at Interview Day will look for certain business majors, such as Operations Management (OM), as well as Management Information Systems (MIS). Occasionally we may see some that look for Accounting or Finance. But, that’s pretty much the extent of those recruiting at Interview Day. Now, students who secure co-op positions (three, alternating work semesters) can still bring that offer to us and be covered under the co-op program during the semesters they are at work.
Hopefully that answers your questions! Have a great evening.
Maybe the employer would even know of temporary housing options in Birmingham, an employer renting out a spare room, another co-op student (or UAB student) sharing an apartment?
Is there a bus that runs between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham?
@mommdc, public transportation is essentially nonexistent in AL.
Honestly, it’s an easy 55-minute drive (and people do drive fast there, so I’m sure it can be done in more like 50), straight up I-20.
@LucieTheLakie, thanks for clarifying about public transportation. I also meant to say in my post above, an employee renting out a spare room (not employer).
It’s official, my son accepted the Evonik co-op! Thanks so much for everyone’s input! My freshman son signed up for the Spring interview days without my knowledge, it came as a huge surprise to us when he told us about his offer! I’m a planner and since he has siblings that could potentially be affected by this decision, I was a bit lukewarm on the idea of co-oping. Based on everyone’s input (especially Tide4coOp) and his conversations with other students at Evonik, the co-op was a definitely something he had to take advantage of. So glad to have collegeconfidential.com as a resource!
So glad your son is co-oping! Glad I could get you in touch with Evonik co-op students. It’s such a wonderful experience.
Bamagirl18, I should have added your name in my previous post thanking everyone for their input! It was great that my son could talk to someone in the Evonik co-op program. You made that happen! I’m so glad that students read cc.