Let's talk CO-OP money and living arrangements

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
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Most co-ops are full time - some are part time (and they encourage you to then get a second part-time job - they call it 20/20 twenty hours each from two jobs). The transition is hard - be prepared to be extremely tired the first few weeks - waking up early, commuting, and then coming home late. However that goes away and the joy of not having homework on weekends takes its place. During their first co-ops my daughter and her friends really enjoyed and explored Boston - taking in the sites and the various eateries.

My daughter has a friend who is game/computer joint major and his co-op this semester is part-time research leading a game development team - he is loving it (has a game demo coming up in a few weeks and is very excited about it).

You can do 1,2, or 3 co-ops and graduate in 4 to 5 years. Depending upon your major (don’t know how it works with dig arts/game) you can have a lot of flexibility in determining when you co-op - you don’t have to have it all planned form the beginning.

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@sbjdorlo I believe most coops are full time and most are paid-and some are very well paid.

I think the best way to look at this is that while on coop the student may be able to pay their living expenses if they live in Boston which is a very very expensive place to live in.

The coops are everything they have claimed to be at least from my direct experience.

I would have your son contact the department I am sure they will make a connection for him!

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@sbjdorlo, your son might only be able to do two co-ops with that major. My son is a Computer Science/Game Design major, and we didn’t find out until he started that it is considered a Creative Industries major and limited to two co-ops. My son started in 2011 and his program is 5 years with no summer classes, but I recently read on the NU Parents’ Board that they’ve changed it for this year’s freshman class to a 4-year program with summer sessions, one 6-month co-op, and one 4-month co-op. My impression is that they just don’t have enough gaming co-ops for these students. My son’s first co-op was a CS job with a financial services company; this semester he’s doing a co-op with a student group that is developing a game, being paid a stipend which basically covers food and transportation. So we are having to pay 6 months rent that we did not anticipate, but ds has a full-tuition NMF scholarship so we’re willing to do it. He’s also working as a tutor on campus a few hours a week. I know that finances are a big consideration for you, so I urge you to try to find out how successful Digital Arts/Game Design students are in finding paid co-ops.

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This is very helpful information, @kappie . When he visits next week, I will be sure he asks that question. Funny, I was hunting around for internship leads for a client I’m working with, and came across a game design internship. It paid $12 an hour-not very much. It sounded really fun to my son, but I have to wonder about that. I don’t think my son would care at all if he only had two internships. He might be happy with one, for all I know. It’s a big jump for him to work full time.

Would the Digital Arts and Game Design fall under the same category as your son’s? So it’s a 4 year program with one summer co-op and one semester co-op? Will your son have a BS degree in CS?

It would be really good to know the job placement success at the various schools with game design/animation that he’s considering.

His other schools with similar programs, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, are close to the LA area, so I’ve heard there are opportunities. However, they are larger and don’t do “hand holding”, so it might be hard for my introverted son to agressively pursue something.

The other schools on the short list don’t really have game design at all. (ICAM at UCSD and Digital Media Studies at U Rochester)

Have you been happy with NEU overall? Was this situation disappointing? Our financial aid covers more than tuition at this point, and with the appeal, I think he’ll get even more. Still, unless he gets the music scholarship, I just don’t want us to leave him feeling so poor and broke that he struggles in school.

UCI is Computer Game Science. He’s more a creative guy (though admittedly, he’s actually doing well in Java and Calculus at the community college this spring), so his preference would be less tech and more creative work. But I reallly feel like coming out with a genuine CS degree like UCI has, in addition to the game design emphasis might be the way to go.

This decision making will go right down to the wire, I’m afraid. Any and all info about NEU is very, very welcome.

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@sbjdorlo, I don’t know if the Digital Arts/Game Design major is a 4-year program – that is certainly something your son should find out. I have to admit that I find it disingenuous that it was never mentioned at Admitted Students’ Day or Orientation that some combined majors in Computer Science would be limited to two co-ops. I know that the parent who posted about the change to a 4-year program on the NU Parents’ Board was also under the impression that his son would be doing 3 co-ops. In hindsight, I now know that if a sample course schedule shows no summer classes, it’s a 5-year, 2-co-op program.

My son will have a BS in a combined major of CS and Game Design from the School of Computer and Information Science, so I hope that it will be considered a CS degree. I’m nervous that they’ve changed the requirements for the major twice in just the time he’s been there, adding 5 more CS classes. The changes don’t pertain to him, but I’m worried that he’ll be at a disadvantage without them. He has 4 electives remaining, so he could take some of them, but he’s thinking of minoring in math, which would use up 2 electives.

Your son should compare the classes required for the UCI (my alma mater) degree and the NU CS/Game Design Degree and the NU Digital Arts/Game Design degree. NU was very generous in accepting dual enrollment credits for my son (homeschooled like yours), so he had a lot of flexibility with electivies. It’s possible your son could do CS/GD and still take a lot of digital arts classes.

When exactly is your son going to be at NU? One of my son’s good friends is a Digital Arts/Game Design major. I will try to find out if he is happy with his program. Overall, ds has been happy with NU, though I don’t think he’s been particularly challenged by most of his classes. He’s worked as an on-campus tutor since his sophomore year (he was recommended for the jobs, not something he sought out), which has been a bonus for us/him. I know in the school of Computer Science they really offer a lot of support to the students. And it’s definitely great to be in Boston (though not so much with the snow this winter); ds refuses to drive, so he needs to be somewhere with good public transportation.

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@kappie, I really, really appreciate all the info! I need to gather it in one place for my son so he can read what you and others are saying.

My son will spend the day at NU next Friday. This is his tentative schedule:

9:00am – Inside Northeastern
11am – First Friday with CAMD
12:30 – Lunch
1:30-3:15 – Games & Society

I am hoping he asks a lot of questions, but I won’t be there, so I have no clue if he’ll get the info he needs regarding whether or not it’s a 4 year degree, and if requirements change.

You know, I looked up the transfer credits from my son’s community college, but NONE of them transferred. I was really bummed about that. For example, they only listed English 208 and not freshman English 105. I don’t understand why. And his Java, Italian, Calculus, and Physics won’t transfer, either. I didn’t check on animation actually. I wonder about that as he has two semesters.

He’ll take two AP exams, Calc and CS A. Assuming he gets 4s or 5s, I guess that’s something.

But if he stayed in California, I think probably 5-6 of his classes would transfer. Something to thing about.

What did you think of UCI? Has it changed? Improved? Downside is it’s big. Doesn’t Northeastern offer a more personalized education?

I think you have some valid points about the changing requirements in CS, but I have to wonder if that isn’t all over the place. For instance, I see that UCI now does much of its CS in Python, though they use Java extensively.

My son is uber creative, and less technically inclined, though he’s doing just fine in Java and apparently, Calculus, which is a complete surprise. I think he’ll be successful if he’s happy…

Your son is more academic than mine. Mine was not looking for the most challenging education, simply because of his health issues.

I would love to hear from your son’s friend. If you want to PM me, I can give you direct contact if he has time to contact me.

I’m still confused (sorry!) about the 4 year vs. 5 year thing. So if my son was to get in and out in 4 years, does that mean he would only do one co-op? Because otherwise, it extends your time? Are you saying that your son/you didn’t want your son to do 5 years, and you were sort of duped into thinking, even with 2 co-ops, it would only be 4 years?

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@sbjdorlo, sorry for the late reply. I hope your son’s visit to NU tomorrow helps with his decision.

I asked ds how his friend liked the program, and he replied, “He doesn’t have any problems with the Digital Art and Game Design major, though he suggests staying away from animation courses if you don’t want them to consume your life.” Not very helpful, I’m sure. He did say his friend was unhappy with the lack of co-op opportunities. His current co-op is at NU doing game-related research.

I moved to Connecticut shortly after graduating from UCI and haven’t been back in over 30 years, so I have no idea what it’s like now. I do know that class size at NU for ds has been way, way lower than mine was. And he does meet with his regular adviser and his honors adviser at least once a year.

I don’t know how accurate that online transfer checker for NU is. I decided to check ds’s community college on it again, and now only two of his classes would transfer, rather than 11. For example, it says they’ll only accept Calc 3, but he got credit for 1 and 2. Makes no sense. Initially ds was given credit for 8 or 9 of his classes, and then I noticed a year or two later that they gave him credit for more.

Regarding co-op, I thought that ds would be doing 3 co-ops in 5 years, but he’s doing 2 co-ops in 5 years. Students who do 3 co-ops have to take classes during 2 summer sessions (2 classes per session = 4 classes to make up for that 3rd semester of co-op); ds does not have to take any summer classes. I’m not bothered by the 5-year plan, but would have preferred for him to have 3 co-ops for the work experience. Ds was not aware that his major is now a 4-year program with one 6-month co-op and one 4-month co-op and summer sessions, but he thinks they changed it to take advantage of the summer internships that gaming companies offer. So your son could get out in 4 years with 2 co-ops if one of those co-ops was only 4 months instead of the standard 6. But be aware that you will have to pay for summer housing.

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Thanks very much for the feedback. Yes, my son says his animation classes are easy but time consuming. Nothing but time will get you what you want to produce. He doesn’t seem to mind, but he’s only taking three college classes. It could get dicey with 4-5 a semester.

Interesting about the community college transfer courses now. I guess my son would just have to try and transfer his classes and see what they take.

I’ll share what your son’s friend said about lack of co-op opportunities. I don’t know how my son will feel.

One wrench thrown into the equation is that he has been admitted to Penn as a Fine Arts major. He could move into their DMD program after freshman year.

So one more school to look closely at and visit. Not sure what will help him decide, though Penn’s financial aid is really, really good.

We’ll see what he thinks when he visits tomorrow.

Thanks again, @kappie.