Co-ops are a great way to try out careers for anyone. They are longer than internships and you have the chance to really learn what people do for a living. For many, some use that experience to change their major or to target something even more specialized within the major.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a student at Northeastern. Yes, the co-ops are awesome. He’s in engineering and will be doing a six month co-op with a big pharmaceutical company. Pay $25/hr, full/time with benefits. They do real work, not getting coffee for co-workers. About 50+ percent get a full time job offer from a previous co-op employer. My kid wants to 3 co-ops before graduating, but many do 2.

You don’t tuition during co-ops, and only pay housing if you’re staying to work near campus.

OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. Do you know if the co-ops at NU are more worthwhile or better for kids with a defined career path like engineering vs. something less clear like psychology or liberal arts? Also, is it hard to maintain friendships and a sense of community with students going on co-op at different times and places?

Actually Northeastern’s Explore program is highly regarded- basically kids who come in undeclared. They get special advisors and try out classes in every college.

Co-op positions are like the real-life workforce in that the engineers/tech/CS people get the highest salaries and high profile co-ops at Apple and Google. But there are a wide variety of careers that students try out - like working at the assistant DA’s office, university research labs, cybersecurity firms, consultant firms, hospitals, etc…

For my kid, it isn’t that hard to maintain friendships - many friends co-op in the same cities, and Northeastern has robust student organizations like other colleges - Greek life, music ensembles, acapella groups, etc…

Anonymous wrote:I have a student at Northeastern. Yes, the co-ops are awesome. He’s in engineering and will be doing a six month co-op with a big pharmaceutical company. Pay $25/hr, full/time with benefits. They do real work, not getting coffee for co-workers. About 50+ percent get a full time job offer from a previous co-op employer. My kid wants to 3 co-ops before graduating, but many do 2.

You don’t tuition during co-ops, and only pay housing if you’re staying to work near campus.

OP here. Thanks, this is helpful. Do you know if the co-ops at NU are more worthwhile or better for kids with a defined career path like engineering vs. something less clear like psychology or liberal arts? Also, is it hard to maintain friendships and a sense of community with students going on co-op at different times and places?

*don’t pay tuition

I have a student at Northeastern. Yes, the co-ops are awesome. He’s in engineering and will be doing a six month co-op with a big pharmaceutical company. Pay $25/hr, full/time with benefits. They do real work, not getting coffee for co-workers. About 50+ percent get a full time job offer from a previous co-op employer. My kid wants to 3 co-ops before graduating, but many do 2.

You don’t tuition during co-ops, and only pay housing if you’re staying to work near campus.

It was a million years ago, but DH did co-op at Stevens (in NJ) and it led to his first job. He really wanted our senior to consider schools with the option.

Sorry, just to clarify -- the PP with the 3/6 GPA kid who was worried about getting into Drexel is not the OP. I'm the OP and I think my kid will have the stats to get into Drexel; not sure about Northeastern. My question was more generally about co-op programs and whether anyone has a student with experience in one and what that was like. And to answer a PP about why co-op vs. internship, my kid is a strong student but is less motivated with learning just for learning's sake and more motivated with learning with an end goal or some utility of the knowledge in mind. So I was thinking that if the work experience is part of the curriculum, my kid would be more motivated and engaged rather than learning for the sake of a grade or the subject matter in itself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid would love a co-op program but probably won't have the admissions criteria to get into Drexel or Northeastern. Any other choices for a 3.6 kid with terrible scores and no AP classes? I think he would like to work and head to more of a professional program. Business major.

Look at SJU - St. Joseph’s University in Philly. They have a great co-op program and a terrific, accredited business school. Kids make about $30k while cooping during two semesters (sophomore and senior or junior year) and they take summer classes to make up missed coursework.

Did you have a child who went there? Pros and cons of the school in general. It's high on my son's list right now. Thanks!

It was a strong contender for my daughter. We loved it. Pros: It felt like it had the best parts of some other schools with a less competitive vibe. It felt nurturing, homey, and had a great energy, even though we visited during a pandemic. They had returned to some in-person classes, and there were still a lot of online-only classes, but kids were out and about, wearing masks but having fun. It's the type of school where people stop you if you look lost and ask you if you need help.

Cons: They're on the verge of a merger with another Philly college. I guess in theory, St. Joe's remains strong in business and U. of the Sciences remains strong in the sciences, and they share some administrative functions. It seemed a little shaky to me.

To the OP, I think your kid will get into Drexel, esp. if they get that score a little higher. But St. Joe's is a good idea, too.