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Financing Your College Career Through Cooperative Education
Let's face it: in a tight economy, good gigs are tough to come by. On top of that, gaining the academic preparation necessary to land a great-paying position is getting more and more expensive.
Why? Because most academic institutions must increase tuition between 2% and 10% each year just to pay bills. Hence, obtaining a College Scholarship is almost mandatory to cover your fees.
This means that students starting their college careers often have difficult choices to make:
Take out student loans (thus falling deep into debt even before school begins)
Try to obtain financial aid before the semester or term starts (or work a few years to earn enough money to get through their first semesters of college).
But for those who believe that there must be a better way out there to pay for school, the answer is simple: professional cooperative education.
You can earn enough money during your terms away from school throughout college to pay tuition and room and board and still graduate debt-free. So what will it be?
The devastating burden of student loans, the financial fiasco of financial aid, or a degree paid for through professional work experience that can jump-start your first job and help you develop a career network? --with or without a college schoalrship--
A 2005/2006 survey of high school counselors and associated research conducted by the National Commission for Cooperative Education (NCCE) [a premier organization dedicated to the advancement of the highest-quality college-level cooperative education programs in the U.S.] showed that one-third of counselors who responded had no knowledge of what co-op is.
Approximately 50,000 employers in the U.S. participate in cooperative education. In addition, more than 60% of students who participate in co-op accept permanent jobs from their co-op employers, and more than 95% of students who engage in co-op obtain employment immediately upon graduation.
Corporations find that cooperative education schools fill important needs by identifying and providing talented professionals before they graduate from college, which is critical in a tight, highly competitive economy.
Co-op programs help companies because they spend less time and money training individuals for assignments, especially when students take classroom theories and apply them immediately and directly to a co-op position.
Most college grads come in with tons of ambition—they say, ‘I know there’s a mountain here, and I’d sure like to climb it.’
The list of cooperative education schools in the U.S. continues to grow. Of course, they all will offer a college scholarship to deserving students.
Some of them include Kettering University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Antioch College, Drexel University, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Rochester Institute of Technology, Johnson & Wales University, Northeastern University, the University of Cincinnati, Pace University, and the University of Louisville.
Many students participating in co-op at these and other schools receive excellent wages, stipends for travel, and assistance with locating housing during their co-op term.
Faculty and staff at these institutions also have years of industry experience as well as lasting relationships with American companies. (a college scholarship via co-ops are the way to go...)
Corporations seek out these faculty and staff to help develop new products, conduct sponsored research, and assist in the future development of the organization. In return, many schools gain additional cooperative education opportunities with companies as the institutions build their stable of positions for students. --This arrangement is more awesome than any college scholarship.--
Co-op enhances student and employer outcomes
The NCCE also reports that students who engage in cooperative education gain a number of advantages. These include:
• the ability to integrate classroom theory with workplace practice;
• clarity about academic goals;
• technological knowledge through the use of state-of-the-art equipment;
• understanding of workplace cultures;
• increased maturity and motivation;
• productive and responsible citizenship skills.
Employers who hire cooperative education students gain, too. Advantages include:
• employing well-prepared, short-term employees;
• increased staff diversity;
• flexibility in addressing human resource needs;
• access to candidates with needed skills and backgrounds;
• partnerships with schools and opportunities to provide input on quality and relevancy of school curricula;
• cost-effective productivity.
A recent study reports that a third of high school counselors have little or no knowledge of co-op education programs, and 11% are “not at all” familiar with them. Still, counselors may help you with securing a college scholarship.
Co-op education programs let students work in positions that provide extensive experience in their chosen field, which results in higher starting salaries upon graduation.
Earnings through co-op programs can range from $2500 to $14,000 a year; many students make as much as $40,000 during their entire college career. Currently, 50,000 companies offer co-op positions, including 80% of the Fortune 500 firms.
Co-op provides a unique opportunity to network with high-level executives, which could lead to fruitful professional opportunities for students.
College Career Financing article written and reprinted courtesy of FindTuition. FindTuition is a free scholarship search service that allows subscribers to search, research, target, and manage scholarship opportunities via specific college, athletic, and scholarship searches.
In March 2007 the Census Bureau report concluded adults age 18 and older with a bachelor's degree earned an average of $25,000 a year more than high school graduates without a bachelor’s degree.
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