Our HS junior and I just got back from visiting schools during his spring break. He really liked the Coop program at RIT, where Coops are pretty much an expectation and students get a lot of support in preparing for and finding them. Would appreciate suggestions for other school schools with strong Coop programs in CS. Do any state universities have such programs? I’ve seen Coops mentioned in our home state school (UMD), but it sounds like more of an option, and without as much supports for preparing and finding them. Our S is a B+ student, so not thinking about MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and the like.
Northeastern and Drexel are known for their strong co-op programs. Also Stevens more recently.
UMD - not really a co-op school but the option exists if he wants. But direct admission into CS is likely going to be hard with a B+. It’s a very competitive school.
Clemson has a fairly large co op program. Admissions have been getting much more competitive there the last few years, so I am not sure whether that would fall into a reach or match category for your son.
My oldest did co op at Auburn, but their program is fairly small and under utilized. He had a great experience and is currently employed by the company he worked for during college.
I’ve been told by people I know in engineering and CS that coop programs are significantly easier to get than internships because fewer students want to take a break from college for a semester.
It’s certainly a benefit to be at a school that actively helps place students, but if finances or grades preclude attending such a school then all is not lost. A key, though, is to ensure that if there are any year-long sequences for his major that both halves of the sequence are taught each semester so that after a semester away he can jump right back in.
Lots of colleges have optional formalized co-ops. One thing to check is whether upper level CS courses are offered frequently enough that being away from school during a co-op does not mean missing the opportunity to take a desired course.
As noted above, Cincinnati, Drexel, and Northeastern build their curricula around co-ops, which are an expectation for all students at those schools (versus being an option that is available).
If he’s liking Upstate NY, SUNY Oswego has a strong co-op program, and it could be accessible for a B+ student. They have both a BA and a BS in Computer Science, plus related majors like Info Science, Cognitive Science, and Interaction Design. Internships and Co-ops | SUNY Oswego It’s a smaller public U (about 6000 undergrads) with a project-based CS curriculum.
Drexel and U of Cincinnati, as already mentioned, could be good options as well. (Northeastern, also mentioned, is an unlikely admit for a B+ student, especially in CS.)
Pitt and VCU also have co-op options for CS and could be worth a look. Also NJIT.