Northeastern v. William & Mary

PengsPhils
Tue, 07 Apr 2015 05:34:37 +0000

@soccerguy315‌

I have NEU based stats about co-ops and rankings about career services (both stats already included in this thread I think) but I don’t think anyone has looked at co-ops compared to internships specifically for a few reasons:

1. As mentioned before, the difference hasn't mattered or appeared to mattered until recently when the landscape of the workforce changed and required a better leg up for assurance of employment.

2. I'm not sure who would look at those numbers. Who would conduct the study and would be able to get accurate data?

3. Problems with accurate post-graduation employment numbers. This is a big part of #2 I think.

As far as post-grad employment, the best I found was 86% for W&M (2011), 91% for W&M business, 90% (2010) for NEU, and 93% for current NEU Business. Considering the growth of NEU and W&M’s upward employment trend mentioned in Source 1, I think those numbers are at least somewhat trustworthy and I would project that the gaps between each would be about the same today. If I am not mistaken, all of these numbers account for grad-school attendance and it is not counted against the employment rate.

So, it would look like NEU does offer slightly better job prospects as a school. That 90% number is brought into question in Source 3 slightly, as are all other employment numbers. The 86% I found was surprisingly hard to find. The 93% is on a NEU website so I wouldn’t say that’s 100% either. Basically, there’s no surefire data in the area for many other reasons, and that’s a whole separate issue, as noted in my #3 above. But, assuming equal assurance of correctness in all sources, it seems NEU does have a slight edge.

I think Source 3, especially towards the end, makes some points I would agree with on internships versus co-ops. That would be something my argument would generally support.

Source 1: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/7767/

Source 2: http://www.damore-mckim.northeastern.edu/en/academic-programs/graduate-programs/mba/full-time/fast-facts/employment-statistics/

Source 3: http://www.citylab.com/work/2012/09/could-co-ops-solve-our-college-grad-employment-crisis/3205/

Source 4: http://www.bloomberg.com/bschools/rankings/full_time_mba_profiles/williammary.html

Based on this, my experience, my research in the college selection process and admittedly some personal preference towards professional focus rather than academic (though I love academics and would stay in school forever if I could), I have become a big advocate for co-op programs. I have yet to see any statistical pattern suggesting that co-ops aren’t the best advantage for post-graduation employment, including when compared to internships. I myself have had two internships and have seen the exact problems with them: lack of specific job, low/no pay, less investment by the company. Co-ops allow companies to really invest, have a long-term job/project ready for you, and you are compensated with significantly better pay.