<p>Krug, the co-op programs do vary a great deal from school to school. When I was a Clarkson, we had “Semester in Industry”, and those students made up classes over the summer. I did summer corporate internships. They are helpful, but not as good as a full co-op of 5 or 6 months.</p>
<p>I am most familiar currently with Northeastern co-op. Those students have a “normal” summer home after freshman year. In the middle of sophomore year, they switch into “A” and “B” rotations, with one group in co-op and one group in class. There are summer class sessions. The humanities classes are often done abroad, and with the NMF it is a terrific deal - no housing fee and tuition covered by scholarship. </p>
<p>The Northeastern integrated co-op approach allows students to continue with campus connections. In fact, housing is guaranteed for at least 3 years. Students can get a Boston co-op and take advantage of the great transportation from campus. They can also continue with their campus friendships, clubs, etc. However don’t count on them saving much of their earnings - it is not cheap to live on campus or anywhere in Boston. If they move home for co-op of course most of the earnings could be saved.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the great info. One of the negatives that I can see is the lack of time that will be required to study for entrance exam if one is to go to graduate/medical school. There is a sense of commitment to the major at the start also (difficulty in switching gears) so a student should be fairly sure of their chosen field.</p>
<p>I did co-op at Case Western Reserve in the '80s. There were only a few of us in the program back then, so most of my friends graduated in 4 and the last year was a bit lonely. It was the only way I could pay for college though.</p>
<p>The U of Cincinnati has co-op (claim they invented it).</p>
<p>^^ mamabear, That is exactly what I am wondering about! Do coop experiences come as a price for a “typical” college 4 year? With everyone on different rotations, do friendships/relationships suffer? Are these kids starting their “working” life earlier?</p>
<p>I think it is better at a school where everyone co-ops (socially). I don’t think of it as starting their working life earlier, any more than internships. My D started internships during her sophomore year of college. It can give the student a good idea if they are in the right field of study.</p>
<p>I have 2 older kids in college right now. The kids that are interning usually do it during the summer months. The school year is filled with clubs activities, volunteer commitments in the community, research, etc… and of course, classes! My oldest is a graduating senior in college and it turned out that she needed many of these activities to “fill out” her applications for schools (just like for undergrad and luckily she was fairly active outside the classroom). The coop experience (although sounds great) would be difficult for those kids that want to be involved in certain activities on a continuous basis (like Big Brother/Big Sister).</p>
<p>When D and I toured at Drexel, our sense was that it was more like “job with school as part of the training”. The focus was very much on work from the beginning, unlike other schools we visited. We also felt that each individual student was more on their own if you will. There was little talk of “community” and all that which you get at some places. Students come and go from the academic setting, leave the dorm for a workplace if their coop is somewhere else, get put in another dorm (at random?) when they come back. </p>
<p>That said, D is applying at both Drexel and Northeastern among her schools.</p>
<p>^^ This is what I am gathering from the discussions. Can someone share their/their kids’ experiences (especially the community part) at schools with extensive coops?</p>
<p>Our experience from having a S graduate as an engineer in a co-op program was that students in these programs take lots of difficult classes together in the first two years and develop a camaraderie from this experience before they go out on co-ops.</p>
<p>Later on, when on co-op, students get close to their fellow co-op students, some from other schools. Some companies that hire lots of co-ops have their own orientation programs and social and community activities. Most seem able to slip in and out of clubs and undergraduate research as they return after rotations. (Students with established hobbies and interests such as club sports tend to do well in slipping in and out of campus life, although they might fall short in assuming leadership positions in these activities.) Students also tend to become adept at finding and adjusting to different types of housing.</p>
<p>Perhaps these experiences take something away from the intensity of schools where everyone lives in dorms and graduates in 4 years (but even at these schools, many students spend some or most of junior year abroad?), but they might add to ease of adjustment after leaving college.</p>
<p>My D interned during the school year up to 20 hrs/wk. She also participated in a club sport and a professional-type sorority. She studied abroad one semester, which didn’t affect her activities that much, she picked them up when she came back. I imagine those gone on co-op would do likewise, especially at a school where co-op is the norm.</p>
<p>I did a D1 varsity sport in college, and people managed to be on that team and work their coop jobs. People also could do other campus activities. Co-op was enough of the norm that it worked. There are also, as suggested earlier, work activities – orientations, co-worker’s holiday parties, office parties and outings, we did a regular Beer Thursday at one job (yes I was over 21), and such. Really, it’s like being part of two communities. You’re definitely still part of the college community, but you are a part of your particular office community/culture as well. </p>
<p>I was never one of those people who was involved in eight activities at once, but I knew people who were and they continued to do that through co-op, and were active sorority, student council, etc members.</p>
<p>“I think it is better at a school where everyone co-ops (socially)” - I agree. In my case I didn’t do Semester in Industry because it would have messed up housing etc with my friends. </p>
<p>One thing interesting about Northeastern co-ops is that they have MORE time for ECs (or maybe studying for med school?) during co-op. A full time job ends at 5pm - schoolwork does not. </p>
<p>That said, NEU it is a different experience than the typical college. But it’s similar to what all others are doing at NEU. Like most college decision factors, there are pros/cons, and much will depend on the particular student’s priorities.</p>
<p>I understand the concerns about commitment toward a major, but there have been plenty of students switch majors prior to 1st co-op. Sometimes that delays start of co-op rotations, sometime not. It depends on the course synergy.</p>
<p>Thank you very much to everyone that chimed in. It answered many questions and we can make an informed decision when we hear back from all the colleges. Overall, I guess it’s mostly a good thing for all those that were involved.</p>
<p>krug - You’ll find a lot of good info on NEU co-ops on the Colleges threads because is such a part of the culture. But other college threads will also have co-op info if you hunt for it. In a way I think it is good that there are a few months between apps and replies… gives some time to ponder. Good luck, whatever you decide!</p>
<p>CoMom, I was hoping to gather data to compare schools that have coops versus ones that don’t but is big in promoting internships (don’t know which really, may be BU and WPI since they are both in the Boston area and comparable to NE in rankings). As we all know, college is more than getting a job, it’s growth and community and lifelong friendships…</p>
<p>I attended University of Cincinnati and recently visited the College of Engineering with my D. UC Has an excellent co-op program. They estimate that their students earn $50,000 over the course of the five years. Several of the students we talked to were applying for med school and since they are all on campus their senior year, this is possible. Many students are in co-op positions with free housing, are in jobs close to home or Cincinnati. A great deal of options open. It has always been five years and even with the recent change to semesters it has worked.</p>
<p>I did MIT’s coop that leads to a BS-MS in 5 years. </p>
<p>Typically it’s
Summer after sophomore year
Summer after junior year
Summer after senior year, and first semester of grad year. </p>
<p>You could just graduate with a bachelors having only done coop over the summers. The advantage of these programs is that the companies are required to provide decent work and you get a sense of what working is like and how the abstract classes you take find operational meaning in practice.</p>
<p>Lots of schools have a formalized, but optional, co-op program. Even those that do not often have withdrawal and readmission procedures that make it administratively easy for a student to take a semester off for a “co-op job” and return later.</p>
<p>Northeastern and Drexel are unusual in that just about everyone does the co-ops.</p>