<p>In response to Chardo:</p>
<p>As I’ve said before, I’m a current undergraduate student that participated in the co-op program at Stevens. I’ve done a bit of research on the schools that you’ve mentioned that have co-operative education programs as well.</p>
<p>In regard to schedules, Stevens is has a fall, spring and summer semester. A typical four year undergrad education requires 8 semesters of fall and spring. With co-op at Stevens, it becomes a 5-year program with 8 semesters of study and 3 to 5 semester of co-op work experience including summer semesters. This is very similar to Georgia Tech and RIT’s schedules, where it alternates and students may be taking classes in the summer and work in the fall or spring. RIT offers 2-5 quarters and Georgia Tech offers up to 4 co-op terms. Northeastern and Drexel offer co-ops in 6 month terms for either a 5 or 4 year program so there are up to 3 experiences.</p>
<p>Honestly, the schedules are the most obvious difference in the schools. All these co-op programs are offering the same hands on, real world experiences and the work experience will vary depending on the company. I can’t say much about how the other co-op offices work, but I’ll tell you more about Stevens. The co-op program at Stevens has been in existence for about 25 years in combination with the Office of Career Development (Northeastern and Georgia Tech have been around for much longer). We are ranked 14th in the nation for Career Services by Princeton Review (Northeastern is the only other school ranked, at #1, RIT used to be, but not this past year). We have fantastic relations with over 150 companies, including ones you’ll see on other websites, like Exxon Mobil, Merck, Avon, L’Oreal, Hamilton Sundstrand, HNTB, Credit Suisse, NAVAIR and Picatinny Arsenal. Co-op it not required and about 40% of students of engineering and science majors participate in the co-op program. There are no requirements to join co-op, as long as you are in good academic standing with the school. Also, with each co-op term, students are allowed one free evening or web class that can go towards another degree like a minor or Masters (it is fairly common for students to earn a Bachelors and Masters degree in the 5 years at Stevens with co-op). Average salary for co-op students is about $16.50 an hour and that usually increases with more experience.</p>
<p>I’ve done 3 co-op experiences at Civil Engineering companies in the NJ/NY area (being in the scholars program, I chose to 2 semesters of summer classes instead of 2 semesters of co-op). Stevens’ biggest advantage is its location. NYC is a 15 minute train or bus ride away. The biomedical and pharmaceutical field is very prominent among companies in NJ. There are always jobs for civil engineerings with construction and transportation work all around. Computer engineers/scientists are in demand in the financial district. There are so many great opportunities in this area that it is hard to pass up. Being that most companies are within an hour of the school, students are welcome to live on campus and are able to actively participate at the school during work terms. I live about 25 minutes away from Stevens, so I lived at home for 2 of my terms so I didn’t have to pay for housing, but I was able to be on campus every day, attending meetings and participating at events. Again, I can’t speak for the other schools, but it is really important that students still get to experience all that college has to offer. As a co-op student, it’s easy to just get caught up in work and “the real world” and drift away from college life, but being Stevens and working near the school has really allowed me to stay involved.</p>
<p>Anyway, hope this helped anyone interested in co-op!</p>
<p>Here are the links to all of the schools’ co-op sites:
[Stevens</a> Institute of Technology: Undergraduate Admissions: Careers: Co-op](<a href=“http://www.stevens.edu/sit/admissions/careers/coop.cfm]Stevens”>http://www.stevens.edu/sit/admissions/careers/coop.cfm)
[RIT</a> - OCECS Visitor Portal](<a href=“http://www.rit.edu/emcs/oce/visitors/CooperativeEducation.htm]RIT”>http://www.rit.edu/emcs/oce/visitors/CooperativeEducation.htm)
[Experiential</a> Education > How Co-op Works > Co-op Scheduling Options](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/experiential-learning/coop/howcoopworks/schedule.html]Experiential”>http://www.northeastern.edu/experiential-learning/coop/howcoopworks/schedule.html)
[Georgia</a> Tech :: Division of Professional Practice :: Undergraduate Cooperative Education Program](<a href=“http://www.coop.gatech.edu/]Georgia”>http://www.coop.gatech.edu/)
[Co-op</a> Options | Undergraduate Admissions | Drexel University](<a href=“http://www.drexel.edu/undergrad/coop/coop-options/]Co-op”>http://www.drexel.edu/undergrad/coop/coop-options/)</p>