A College Degree with an EDGE
Written: Jan 15 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great experience and great pay
Cons: An extra year to earn your degree, but well worth the extra time
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| faithjh's Full Review: Drexel University |
Like most other high school seniors, I was unsure of where I wanted to go to college. There were so many schools out there and I just didn't know which one was right for me. This was the first BIG decision of my life and my whole future depended on this choice. So I started reading through the endless pile of college brochures that had been piled sky-high on my desk and making a list of prospect schools.
In the end I decided to attend Drexel University because they offer an extensive co-op program which I will explain to you later. I hadn't even considered doing internships while I was going to college, but after reading about Drexel's co-op program it made complete sense.
First of all, what better way to get experience? I would end up graduating with a degree AND a resume which included three real-world experiences! This would give me quite an advantage over others who graduated with only a degree.
Secondly, it would give me a great opportunity to get my feet wet help me determine if I really had picked the right major. You see, the co-ops that you do are directly related to your major. So obviously if you don't like the kind of work you're doing then you may want to change your major completely or get involved in a different aspect of your major. All too often college students get a visual of what their job will be like when they graduate and when they get into the real world they realize that it's a lot different than they thought.
Lastly, lets face it----college isn't cheap!! Yes, these are well-paid internships. The money I would make in this program would really help me out with college expenses.
----HOW IT WORKS----
There are two different programs. One is a four-year program in which the student completes one co-op. The second, which is the most popular program, is a five-year program in which the student completes three different co-ops.
I am enrolled in the five-year program and here is how it works:
The drexel acedemic year is split up into 4 semesters. (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) During your freshman year, a co-op cycle is assigned to you for your sophomore year. You either get Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer----in my case I got Fall/Winter. That meant that I would be on co-op in the Fall and Winter terms and in classes in the Spring and Summer terms of my sophomore year. As a freshman though I had 3 semesters of class and then I had a summer break just like everybody else. However during my summer break I had interviews at different companies for my upcoming co-op.
So while most college students were going back to school that fall I was going on my first co-operative experience. Each co-op is six months. I learned a lot from my first job and was surprised in how well the pay was after only completing a year of college. I went back to classes in the spring and summer. I would repeat this this cycle for 2 more years. My last year of school would be just like my freshman year in which I would attend classes for 3 semesters. Then, I would graduate of course with a resume and degree. Sure it would take an extra year, but I knew it would be well worth it.
As of now I am on my second co-op and I really like it. Not only is it great experience, but it is nice to have a break from classes for a little while and focus on applying what I've learned. Not to mention the advantage of receiving paychecks.
I know it's a little confusing to understand how it works, but it's well worth it. If you would like more information about it you can visit Drexel's website at http://www.drexel.edu
I know a lot of schools have started offering these types of programs to their students. Drexel has established it's name with many big employers and has an entire database of companies that are more than ready to hire Drexel students for co-op employment.
Also, many full-time positions are offered to the students by the companies that they co-oped at after graduation.
So, if you're a prospective college student or even a parent of a soon-to-be college student, I would definitely recommend looking into Drexel's
co-operative education program.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
faithjh
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Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 7 members
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