[paulgb]

Waterloo has a co-op program where you switch off every four months between working and school. The co-ops can be very well compensated, so many students graduate with little or no student debt.

[speg]

Came here to say this. I finished w/ $40k in the bank but the experiences gave me so much more.

[MikeKusold]

How many years did it take for you to earn your B.S. with all the constant co-oping?

[kineticflow]

An example schedule for an Engineering student is:

Year 1: School, coop, School

Year 2: coop, School, coop

Year 3: School, coop, School

Year 4: coop, School, coop

Year 5: School, school.

4 years and 8 months. Order may vary slightly.

[nobodysbusiness]

It takes an extra 8 months to get your degree. Your 4-year degree basically turns into a 5-year degree.

[sliverstorm]

That sounds fantastic. When I graduated, I was absolutely thrilled to be working on "real stuff that matters". It would have been a great morale booster to be able to properly mix that in with school

[goosling]

It should also be noted that several programs at UW are offered in the regular sense (i.e. no co-op) as well. Engineering is the only faculty with mandatory co-op for all undergraduates.

[AYBABTME]

Got the exact same things in many other canadian universities. uOttawa has it, for instance. I'm doing it, too.