[yardie]

You are comparing colleges to experience. To an employer experience always win. When I was looking for work my college courses were listed right under my name. Now, it sits right above my hobbies. I'm sure in a few years it will be just a footnote. If you can get a coop, great. Nothing stopping someone in university from doing the same. But, as an employer looking for interns, where are you going to look first. You'll probably start at a selective university because they've already done most of the filtering for you.