Drexel isn’t cheaper than CU, but the money he’d earn on co-op could offset some of the higher tuition. That said, you really have to buy into co-op experience… it’s not the “traditional” college experience, and some kids may not like that aspect of Drexel (or Northeastern or any other co-op centric university.)
Co-ops are available optionally at other colleges besides the few that focus on them. For example:
https://www.colorado.edu/activelearningprogram/professional-learning/cooperative-education-program
https://career.engineering.asu.edu/co-op-program-information/
http://careers.ucr.edu/jobs/internships/internships.html
@ucbalumnus, thanks for the tip! I didn’t know that other “traditional” universities also offer co-op programs, not just internships. And CU has an engineering co-op program - nice option. Does extend the degree program to 5 years but the professional experience is a plus.
Remember that doing a co-op extends the calendar time to graduation, but does not increase the number of tuition-paying semesters (or quarters), assuming that required sequenced courses are offered often enough that the student can pick up the sequence in time to graduate within 8 semesters (or 12 quarters) of school even with a co-op gap semester (or quarter).