<p>This is a point that kids do not often discover until after they send a deposit: regular school year calendars vary quite a lot. I was surprised when DD went to Pitt. She has two weeks at Christmas, but is finished at the end of April. Students have nearly a four- month summer, so with planning, a longer summer job is possible.</p>
<p>The OP should get really good merit aid (and honors) at University of Delaware. And check out the engineering news they just announced this week:</p>
<p>[University</a> announces $5 million commitment from DuPont for laboratory](<a href=“http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2013/aug/dupont-ise-lab-082112.html]University”>University announces $5 million commitment from DuPont for laboratory)</p>
<p>Since your daughter is interested in engineering, and if you want to look into co-op, check out RIT. My son is also interested in engineering and we went to RIT’s Colleges and Careers program this summer. Came away very impressed with the co-op program. </p>
<p>Engineering students earn about $16/hr on average while on co-op. RITs co-op is pretty much university wide so they are basically a 5 yr school all around. They have been doing it for 100 years so they have lots of relationships with corporations, help with getting the positions, etc. They vet the companies so no “getting coffee” instead of doing engineering. You can do co-op in Rochester area (and stay on the room and board plan but no tuition), do one close to home (no Room and board or tuition). A large percentage of kids end up getting jobs with the companies that they worked for.</p>
<p>I second Olin College of Engineering, it would be good to check out since it’s really an excellent experience for females with the gender balance.
There used to be a fencing club at Olin but not sure if it’s currently active or not.</p>
<p>Add University of Cincinnati to the co-op/Engineering/merit aid list!</p>
<p>My S (NMF) is there on full scholarship, CS major, mandatory co-op. They just switched to semesters (as did all of Ohio) so the new schedule is actually trimesters. They get out in April and then summer is the same length as the other semesters (or a nice long period for working.)</p>
<p>I think Northeastern has a 4 year (with coops) option now. I am not 100% sure, but it would be worth researching. I know they were considering this option to attract strong students who did not want to take 5 years to graduate. I do know students doing Northeastern in 4 years, but the ones I know are not engineers.</p>
<p>Boston University has the Alexander Graham Bell scholarship for engineering. Also has Trustee Scholarship (not discipline-specific) and others as well.</p>
<p>I haven’t read through all of this thread but my son had pretty good stats and received 25K from RPI. He was offered 22.5 from Case Western. He’s at RPI and so far it seems great.</p>
<p>IMO taking the 4-year option at Northeastern really sacrifices the unique benefit that Northeastern’s co-op program offers.</p>
<p>I think you still do coops in 4 years, just fewer.
[Questions</a> and Answers on 4-Year Degree](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/faq/4year.html]Questions”>http://www.northeastern.edu/faq/4year.html)</p>
<p>Yes, you do, but IMO “more is better” with the co-op.</p>
<p>Northeastern does appear to be generous with AP credit, so that students with a lot of it may be able to do the same number of co-ops as those on the five year plan, but graduate in fewer than five years.</p>
<p>We checked out the Alexander Graham Bell scholarship at BU and the link is down. Anybody with info (stats, application, interview, etc) that is willing to share would be so helpful. We also heard great things about Vanderbilt engineering (not so sure about fit for a down to earth engineering girl that’s not the typical Vandy girl), USC engineering, and Lehigh. Opinions, hearsay, experiences, etc… will be appreciated. Thanks</p>
<p>Is RPI difficult to get in and out of? Airport?</p>
<p>There’s a reasonably major airport in Albany, about 20 mins from RPI. RPI website states that a cab would be about $25 and they run free shuttles around the major school breaks. There is also a bus and Amtrak station in Albany that RPI runs shuttles to.</p>
<p>Thanks, mathmom!<br>
Sorry another question: our D shadowed a few engineers at a national engineering firm that is headquartered locally and spoke to the recruiters there. They told her that they are just looking for bright, energetic graduates with good communication skills and have no preferences if you go to Big State U or Private Top U. Anyone with experiences whether or not this is common practice and/or true?</p>
<p>krug,This is just anecdotal. Son had an internship this summer . He is a state school (Virginia Tech)engineering major. The woman that was on the same project with him is an Ivy League (Cornell)engineering student. At the end of the internship,they were both offered full time employment when they graduate next year.</p>
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<p>Many of the Big State Us have reputations of being better engineering schools than many of the Private Top Us. Also, the Big State Us have more students to recruit from, and not so much competition from investment banks.</p>
<p>This is very helpful to us as we finalize our list of schools to apply to. Many of the publics are limited on funds for merits (understandably so with the current economic condition) and I wonder how much they would want an OOS. Michigan and Berkeley are dependent on their OOS for full pay to help the coffers so we have heard.</p>
<p>I’ll throw in another school. University of South Carolina offers pretty good merit for OOS students, with the OP’s kid’s stats, they would be in line for a reduction to IS tuition plus an extra amount ranging from $4000 to $15000 if they won a McNair.</p>
<p>[Non-Resident</a> | University of South Carolina](<a href=“Apply Now - Office of Undergraduate Admissions | University of South Carolina”>Apply Now - Office of Undergraduate Admissions | University of South Carolina)</p>
<p>And they have the #1 ranked Honors College if that is of interest. Most Honors college students get some sort of scholarship from what I have heard.</p>
<p>Co-op is great value add for Engineering. Many engineering schools give the option, but Northeastern stands out because it is so integrated - everybody has to do it. </p>
<p>There are usually 3 (sometimes 2) 6 month co-op rotations. The first 3 semesters are same as other semester colleges. Then in January sophomore year, half the class goes on co-op, half do another academic semester. Then they flip-flop schedules after that.</p>
<p>The great thing at Northeastern is that many co-ops are in Boston. Students can still live on campus (housing guaranteed thru at least 3rd year), do clubs, have same friends, etc. Earnings are about enough to be self-supporting during the time, possibly with some savings (or a lot of savings if the student lives home, but that interrupts the college experience.</p>
<p>NMSF should definitely consider Northeastern. In the past Finalists qualified for a full tuition scholarship (read the rules… there is a deadline I think April-ish). Northeastern encourages international opportunities, and they only charge tuition for summer “Dialog” programs (compressed humanities class) abroad. That means those on full tuition scholarship can do summer session cheaper in Rome than in Boston 
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<p>AP/IB credits are fairly liberal, so the 5 year three-co-op program (the best way in my opinion) might get finished faster.</p>