Northeastern v. William & Mary

IBstudentDad
Mon, 06 Apr 2015 02:44:54 +0000

Back to the coop vs. intern discussion… I attended Virginia Tech, which also has a strong coop program. I worked 6 mo of the year (summer and fall) for 3 years and one summer for a total of 7 quarters of work. This extended my graduation date by 1 year, but I was able to make enough money to come away without debt. My grades were not stellar, but the experience was valued by may employers during my senior year resulting in multiple job offers prior to graduation. Intern positions are good, but generally short term and frequently unpaid. A coop assignment gives you and an employer to invest some serious time in each other. The coop position is a real job, so you come out of the gate with much more experience than your peers. I had several friends who were coops, all had jobs before graduation.