<p>Is there a difference between co-op programs (like Northeastern U.'s) and work-study programs (like MIT’s)?</p>
<p>I’m going to need all the financial help I can get; I’d be tempted to attend Northeastern instead of elite colleges like MIT or Caltech (assuming I’m accepted), which do not offer a co-op program, so I can save some $$.</p>
<p>So, does co-op=work-study?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I want to know this too. I can’t seem to figure out the difference!</p>
<p>Make sure you ask, because some schools that I did not know had Co-op (like WPI in Worchester, MA) actually do offer it.</p>
<p>Work-study is typically an on-campus job that allows one to study while they “work”. You still take classes at the same time. Kinda like monitoring folks who are entering the library or a lab or something. You can basically study until someone tries to gain entrance, etc…but most of the time you get paid and can still study. Or you work in a lab or something but still take classes at the same time.</p>
<p>Co-op is taking a semester or two off and working in a real business environment, most likely somewhere off-campus. You don’t take any classes and you basically work full time instead of attending classes. Completely different. I would be wary of ANY school offering a strong co-op program at this point in time; as they are basically marketing the (past) internet boom that happened 4-6 years ago when any college EE or CS student with a pulse could get a great job at a great salary because of all the internet startups that have long since busted. Those days and attractive jobs are long gone now, unless you attend the very top tier schools!</p>
<p>To be honest, I’m an MIT student and I still don’t really know what work-study means. I supposedly had a work-study job freshman year which entailed working in the foreign language library, but I never had to tell the financial aid office that I was actually doing a work-study.</p>
<p>A good thing about being an MIT student is that it’s very easy to get a research job during the school year and internships during the summer. I’m making about $8k a year working in a lab on campus, which goes a long way toward paying off tuition. :)</p>
<p>eng_dude:</p>
<p>Northeastern U. claims that over 2,000 employers (of which I doubt many are defunct dot.coms) hire co-op undegraduates every year. But then again, I’m suspicious of the weight NU puts on its co-op program (it seems like without co-op, NU would be like every other college).</p>
<p>Should I still be wary if a co-op college says so many employers are available?</p>
<p>^ Well, I’m applying there, and I think it’s an interesting program, but, like you, I’d like to know more…</p>
<p>ya im applying to NEU as well because there program sounds beneficial. However I know very little about it; all i know is that you can do the honors program while also doing co-op. Also, its supposed to be jobs (or would you call them internships in this case??) that are related to your major so that’s gotta be good i think</p>
<p>Co-op can provide on-the-job experience and sometimes a permanent job offer. The money helps pay for college if you don’t spend it on rent and meals. Co-op can mean staying in school an extra year and paying room and board for an extra year. Rochester Institute of Technology also has co-op.</p>
<p>Northeastern’s program is a five year program because the student does 3 terms of co-op. However they are not paying tuition during those terms. If needed I do beleive that the school will allow you to live on campus but you must pay for housing. During co-op you work a full time job for a period of one year. The do try to align you with your interst. Friends’s daughter attended NU on a full ride track scholarship. She had her co-op experience working as a paralegal at a firm which did keep her on part tim when her co-op ended and hired her full time when she graduated. She felt that the work experince was benefical in helping her get into the law school of her choice.</p>
<p>Actually, the oldest coop program in the US ( and probably the largest) is found in University of Cincinnati. The started the whole paid coop thing in 1906. Almost all majors ( other than some in arts and science) not only get 1.5 years of coop but they must take it as part of their education. Cincinnati is a 5 year program too.</p>
<p>Northeastern’s co-op is an excellent program, b/c it basically is the school., it is the largest and ranked the best by U.S. News. 85% of the school takes part in the co-op program. It’s a five year program:</p>
<p>Freshmen
Sophmore
Middler
Junior
Senior</p>
<p>You really need to visit a school and hear directly from them how it works, but it is an amazing experienc, and not a joke, or else Northeastern wouldn’t exist. It’s been the focal point of the school since 1909 and most student actually pick up a job with a previous co-op employer.</p>
<p>There are 300 co-op employers that employ directly through Northeastern through affiliation with the school they range from law firms to the Boston Globe to Walt Disney World, and they don’t have to be within your major, the companies are simply looking for Northeastern students, if you go down to Epcot you might find a philosophy major. Also, you do not pay tution while you’re on co-op, because, the majority of your class is on co-op, you are basically employed for six months at a job raning from $10-25 an hour, and then you take six months of classes, so you’re only regular year (two semesters, then summer) will be freshmen year.</p>
<p>They’re not internships, they’re actual jobs, and they don’t count for course credits, you’re subsituting your summer for classes and adding on an extra year, that’s how it works, and no they don’t have to be related to your major.</p>
<p>Any other questions about the school, ask me, or even better, contact your college counselor: <a href=“http://www.admissions.neu.edu/area.html[/url]”>http://www.admissions.neu.edu/area.html</a></p>
<p>I appreciate your elaboration of NU’s co-op program.</p>
<p>A couple more questions: does one take ANY classes whatsoever while he is working? i.e. Is it purely classes one semester and purely work (no classes) the other semester? May one work part-time during the “classes-only semester”?</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>The regular semesters are just that, a regular semester like at any other college. If you’re on the five year co-op plan, like 85% of the school, then you will not take any classes during the co-op, you’re getting work experience, money, and building an excellent resume that puts you light years ahead of most undergrads.</p>
<p>The great part is that its for only six months, just a taste, then you go back to classes, for a six month period, where you’ll take your classes. After that, you’ll start a new co-op with an entirely different company.</p>
<p>There is the 4 year options, and you will check on your application, whether you want the 4 year program (1 co-op) or the regular 5 year program (3 co-ops). The thing is, that if you do the 4 year plan, you will be on a different track than most of your class, and that 's the only negative comment about it, most people who do not take advantage of all three co-ops fill they are not on the same path as the class they came in with (which in a way they aren’t, you’re graduating a year early)</p>
<p>By the way, ALL Northeastern undergrads must do atleast 1 co-op to graduate UNLESS you are in…(the’re two department that don’t require, my minds blanking).</p>
<p>By the way, here’s a list of their most popular employers:
<a href=“http://www.coop.neu.edu/general/employers.html[/url]”>http://www.coop.neu.edu/general/employers.html</a></p>
<p>It’s not limited to Boston, the co-op employers exists in I think 45 states and 23 countries.</p>
<p>I see. I hadn’t realized that you’re employed by a different employer for each co-op session. That’s interesting…</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>Yep, and 3 out of 5 students, I believem will be employed one of those schools after they graduate.</p>
<p>The other difference between co-op and work study is that work study is generally part of a student’s financial aid package, and is usually need-based. If you don’t apply or don’t qualify for aid, no work study. But co-op is part of the school’s plan and philosophy; everyone does co-op regardless of financial need.</p>
<p>There are programs where you can co-op and go to school. My company employs both alternating co-ops (semester on, semester off) and parallel co-ops (15-24 hours per week, arranged around classes). It will depend on your location and whether you can find an employer in your immediate area. You may also have to consider transportation issues. Here, co-ops usually return for additional semesters and many are hired full time after graduation. The payscale is graduated based on your college standing, and co-op experience counts as work experience when you are hired full time. A 3 year co-op will usually be hired as a 2 year experienced engineer.</p>