[jacorreia]

I would be interested to see what others have to say about the different co-op program running at the University of Toronto: instead of the multiple 4/8-month co-op terms we have a single 16-month co-op term between 3rd and 4th year. You're encouraged to find your own internships after 1st and 2nd year, but the career centre provides (basically) no aid. If you do however find work those two summers you end up with the same amount of work experience in the end, but with several of those terms (potentially) at the same company back-to-back. I personally chose UofT over Waterloo because I accepted the line of 'companies are more open to hiring students available for a longer time because they get more out of training, so you'll have better opportunities available' at the time. However, I can see many arguments for and against both co-op systems. It's hard for me to be objective about it as I've yet to see the long-term consequences, and I've managed to get pretty great internships every summer plus my coming 16-month term. I'd really like to hear other opinions of people who may never have heard of such a program (both in what's better for the student and what's better for companies who run internship programs)!