Is there anyone out there who attends / has attended Northeastern and did not participate in the co-op program? I do know all the advantages of the co-op program and there’s plenty of posts here about the program. However, I would like to hear from someone who did not do the co-op program at NEU, the other 10-15%. What was your experience as a non-co-op student? Did you feel like an outcast? Why did you choose Northeastern?
Some majors do not require a co-op, but most do. Therefore most students need at least one co-op to graduate. Some programs allow other experiences to replace a co-op.
I can’t seem to find the stat, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near 10-15% if my memory from visiting serves me right. I believe it it closer to 2%. I am a current freshman and everyone I know is planning to do at least one co-op. Only one person I know is planning to do a single co-op, the rest are planning to do two or three. I myself am planning to do two co-ops.
As far as the social part of it. You wouldn’t even notice someone else isn’t doing co-ops until three or four semesters into your academics excluding directly talking to them about it. I don’t think you would be an outcast. If anything, it makes being social easier because you would be on campus more.
There’s plenty of other great things about Northeastern. For me, it being a city school was big. The size also means that you have plenty of resources no matter what you do. The CS program stood out, as do many at NEU (Business, 6 Year PharmD Program, Engineering) and all of the academics really do hold their own. The co-op was really about 1/4th of my decision, split with the rest of that. I am in love with the school and co-op isn’t the mean reason. I won’t even really experience it for another semester at least.
I believe that all students are required to do 6 months of experiential learning. The most common form of experiential learning is coop, the requirement can also be met by research and global experiences.
http://www.northeastern.edu/experiential-learning/index.html
What is your planned major?
Co-op wasn’t one of the main things that drew me to Northeastern (I was planning to graduate in 3-4 years and maybe do a co-op), but I ended up really loving that part of it and did the full 5 years and 3 co-ops. So I chose Northeastern for many reasons besides just co-op. A big factor was the full-tuition scholarship. Plus I liked Boston and the campus (and wanted a change of pace from small-town midwest). Despite being a large research university, it still seemed to really have a focus on undergraduates that I didn’t feel at a lot of other big institutions. That’s played out in my experience here, too: my professors know me and I’ve gotten great individualized research experiences.
I have had friends do 1, 2, or 3 co-ops, and I know of 1 or 2 people who haven’t done co-ops. I probably know other people who haven’t gone on co-op, but if they haven’t it just doesn’t come up. It’s not like all your classmates are tallying up your co-ops. It’s a very individualized experience. Most (if not all) majors that don’t explicitly require a co-op do require some sort of experiential education, but this can come in a variety of forms, like directed study, honors thesis, or co-op. A lot of people end up doing more than one of those options, I think.
Co-op really is the main attraction of Northeastern and its career services ranks number one in the country. If you don’t want to do co-op, you really shouldn’t go to Northeastern. Let someone else take your spot that wants to get work experience. There are lots of great colleges out there for you to consider that don’t emphasize internships and have other qualities that you might find more attractive. Have you considered BU?