Co-op Application FAQ

In 2022, candidates to Business and Economics Co-op need to achieve an overall first-year GPA of at least 9.0 out of 12 to be eligible for an admission interview. (The actual average GPA of students to whom we offered admission in 2021 was 10.6.) 

We consider all first-year courses completed between September and April in your first year; you must have five full credits.

If you don’t meet the minimum GPA, consult the Grade Requirements. 

Note: Most students begin their first year studies in September. If you began your first year at Laurier in January, please note that you still need to complete ten half-credit courses by the end of the spring term.

Students in Arts or Science must achieve either a first-year overall GPA of at least 7.0 out of 12 or a GPA of at least 7.0 in their honours discipline courses and at least a 6.5 GPA overall.

We consider first-year courses completed between September and April in your first year. See the Marks for Applicants drop down for more detail, including transfer, AP and LEAF courses we consider.

Note: Most students begin their first year studies in September. If you began your first year at Laurier in January, please note that you still need to complete ten half-credit courses by the end of the spring term.

When determining your GPA, we will include only those courses for which we see a numeric grade. We will exclude course letter grades that you have chosen to convert to a “credit" notation.

We will first review your overall GPA from courses you took during the fall 2021 and winter 2022 terms. In addition:

• If you elected to convert one or more grades to the credit format, we will recognize you as having met academic requirements, along with all other students with the same GPA.
• If you provide numeric grades for all required courses, we will recognize you as having exceeded academic requirements, compared to other students with the same GPA.
• If you provide numeric grades for all required and elective courses, we will recognize you as having reached the highest academic achievement, compared to other students with the same GPA.

Please see the admission requirements for your program for more information.

Note: Most students begin their first year studies in September. If you began your first year at Laurier in January, please note that you still need to complete ten half-credit courses by the end of the spring term.

You may retake courses in the summer. We may, however, give more credit for academic achievement to students who achieved the minimum GPA cut-off by the end of the winter term.

We will not consider marks we receive after the application deadline. Before taking courses through another school, check whether they will provide you with marks by our deadline.

See Courses Taken After the Winter Term for more information.

We hold interviews from late August or early September through mid-September. Staff members will began contacting students who are eligible for an interview in August. You will be asked to pick a time for your interview.

(As in the next answer, all interviews will be via Teams, so you will need Internet access and a device with a webcam.)

We conduct all admission interviews virtually, on Teams. Please arrange to have access to the Internet and a device with a webcam.

How to use MS Teams for your co-op admission interview.

You will find lots of information about admission interviews here, including the webinar for your program. We are not able to conduct practise interviews with candidates, and neither are staff members in Laurier's Career Centre.

Yes. If you are granted an admission interview, you will need to provide a resume three days before your interview. Please follow the instructions for submitting your resume, and see the sample resume for your program.

Four categories (weighted equally):

• Paid work experience in the last three years
• Volunteer service and extracurricular activities in the last three years
• Academic record in your first year at Laurier (GPA)
• Performance during the interview

Consult Step 2: Application Review for all the information you'll need for your interview. 

The labour market is hot right now, and we expect that all most all candidates will have had paid work experience in the summer of 2022. Most candidates in 2021 were able to secure paid employment, despite the pandemic.

We look at paid work experience in the last three years. For most applicants, this is from the beginning of grade 11 to the end of O Week in second year. Many candidates work full-time each summer, and some have part-time jobs year-round.

If you have any gaps in your employment, please be prepared to tell us how you spent your time. We want to hear about courses and volunteer work, and about any skills or knowledge you gained and that you could apply to co-op jobs.

To find work in the summer, you might apply to postings through the Career Centre's Navigator database, and also check out job sites such as these:

• Youth-Job Bank
•  Portal to agriculture and food jobs
• Indeed.ca
• Job Bank
• Monster.ca
• Workopolis

The admission process is very competitive, as we interview many more students than we can admit to co-op. We assess both the quality and the quantity of work experience. If you have related experience in an office or in a supervisory role, you may have an advantage, as long as you are able to tell us about your role effectively during the interview.

Try to build on the work experience you have obtained already, and search for relevant work experience during your first year or during the following summer.

Even if you don't have relevant jobs, please tell us about your roles, responsibilities and how you gained skills.

On the resume you provide to the Co-op Office before your interview, please include each employer's name, phone number and email address along with the job description. Follow the sample resume template.

We expect students to present their skills and experience truthfully and factually, as per the Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to verify any information provided and any student who is found to have misrepresented himself or herself will be ineligible for enrolment in the co-op program.

You should be able to list all the roles you held during senior high school and university. If you did more than attend meetings, explain how you contributed to each organization.

You could investigate volunteering within your community.

Ontario Volunteer Centre Network

Volunteer Canada