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Step 2: Application Review
The application review is the second step in a three-step application process.
The first step is to apply by following Step 1: Applying on Navigator.
Status Updates
We are now accepting applications for fall 2023 admission. The final day to apply is Friday, September 1, 2023.
Admission Interview Status
In August, we will begin scheduling interviews with candidates who achieved the minimum required GPA for fall 2023 admission to co-op.
Application Review Requirements
We will have access to your first-year marks in July. We will check whether your marks meet the minimum GPA required for candidates from your program.
If you met the minimum GPA, and you are applying to a program requiring an admission interview, we will send you an email in August. We will invite you to:
- Schedule an admission interview.
- Review and submit an introductory statement and form.
- Upload a resume. You will be asked to provide information about your employment history in the introductory form.
Additional Requirements
BBA students: You must indicate which sequence of work and study terms you prefer. See "Complete the Sequence Form" below.
UXD students: Send your portfolio to coopadmissions@wlu.ca by the application deadline.
Application Review Guide
Use the guide below to help you through the application review process.
You may be wondering whether co-op is right for you. Find out by viewing a recording of an online information session about the co-op admission process for your program. You will learn whether you are eligible to apply, when and how to apply, where to find information about the minimum grade point average, and what you can do to prepare for the admission interview.
Note: If the webinar differs from the website, please follow the instructions on the website.
If the webinar for your program is from 2022, please know that we will add the 2023 version by the end of March. Thanks for your patience.
Arts and Science
If you are a first-year student in Honours Arts or Honours Science, you may view a webinar about applying in 2023 to Arts Co-op or Science Co-op. (New for 2023!)
Business and Economics
If you are a first-year student in Honours Business or Economics, you may view three webinars about applying in 2023 to Business and Economics Co-op.
1. How to Apply to Business and Economics Co-op (New for 2023!)
2. About Business and Economics Co-op (New for 2023!)
3. Co-op Admission Interview (New for 2023!)
Business Technology Management
If you are a first-year student in Business Technology Management, you may view a webinar about enrolling in 2023 in BTM Co-op.
Computer Science, Data Science, PEP
If you are in student in Computer Science or Data Science, please view this webinar about applying in 2023 to Computer Science Co-op or Data Science Co-op or PEP. (New for 2023!)
Double Degree at Laurier: Business and Computer Science, Business and Financial Mathematics
If you are a first-year student in a double degree program at Laurier, you may view a webinar about enrolling in co-op in 2023 for BBA/Computer Science or BBA/Financial Mathematics. (New for 2023!)
Double Degree at Laurier and Waterloo: Business and Computer Science, Business and Mathematics
If you are a first-year student in a double degree program at Laurier and Waterloo, you may view a webinar about enrolling in co-op in 2022 for BBA/Computer Science or BBA/Mathematics.
User Experience Design
If you are a second-year student in UXD, you may view a webinar about applying to Applying to User Experience Design Co-op in 2023.
Additional Resources:
You are welcome to search online for other resources that can help you prepare for interviews.
We are not able to conduct mock interviews with students preparing for admission interviews, and neither are staff members in Laurier's Career Centre.
If you are eligible for an admission interview in 2023, we will send a message to your Laurier email asking you to schedule a time.
Please schedule your admission interview within three business days of receiving your email message. (If you delay, we cannot guarantee you an interview.)
Once you schedule your admission interview, you will receive a confirmation of your appointment.
Arts, Business, Economics, and Science:
- Your admission interview will take place between August 28 and September 20, 2023.
- The last day to schedule an admission interview is September 8, 2023.
- Your admission interview will take place between September 22 and 28, 2023.
- The last day submit your portfolio is September 8, 2023.
- The last day to schedule an admission interview is September 15, 2023
Computer Science and Data Science:
- Your admission interview will take place between November 13 and 24, 2023.
- The last day to schedule an admission interview is November 8, 2023.
If you are in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program, you will let us know which sequence of work and study terms you prefer on your introductory statement and sequence form.
Review the BBA Work Sequences Options before you complete the introductory statement and form, to ensure you select the sequence that works best for you.
Please complete the introductory statement and sequence preference form at least four days before your interview.
Sequence Assignments
We now assign more than half the students we admit to Sequence Two.
- If we assign you to Sequence One in 2023, you will complete your first work term in spring 2024.
- If we assign you to Sequence Two in 2023, you will stay on campus for 3A in spring 2024 and do your first work term in fall 2024.
Sequence Preference
Please consider your options carefully. If we offer you admission to co-op, we are offering you admission to a specific sequence; you may not request the other sequence.
You will receive a link to the introductory statement and form. In the form, you will be asked to provide details of your work history. In addition, you will be asked to upload your resume.
At least four business days before your admission interview:
- Review and complete the introductory statement and form.
- Upload your resume to Navigator.
See what the introductory statement and form looks like for students in your program:
- Business and Economics
- Arts and Science
- UX Design (includes evaluation criteria)
Please upload your resume at least four business days before your admission interview is scheduled to take place. For example, if your interview is on a Monday, please complete the introductory statement and form and upload your resume by the previous Tuesday.
Guidelines
- In preparing your resume, please follow the sample resume format for applicants from your program.
- Please save your resume as a PDF before uploading it.
- Provide as much detail as possible in two pages. (Include your photo on a separate page.)
- the name and contact information for each employer you list in the work experience section.*
- a statement verifying that the information is accurate
- a photo of yourself on a separate page
*If you were self-employed, you may list a client's name, if applicable.
How to Submit Your Resume
To submit your resume, you must complete the introductory statement and form. (You will receive the form once you have scheduled your admission interview.) Once you have completed the introductory statement and form, you will be prompted to upload your resume to Navigator.
Changing Your Resume
If you wish to change your resume after having uploaded it to Navigator, please send your new resume by email to coopadmissions@wlu.ca
In your message, state that you have updated your resume, and include your full name and your interview date.
Resume Examples
Please follow the format used in the sample application resume for students in your program.
Note: If you accept admission to co-op, we will have you create a new resume, without a photo or employers' names and addresses.
Arts Co-op, Science Co-op, and Business and Economics Co-op
- We will notify candidates of our admission decisions by email at 2 p.m. on Friday, September 29, 2023.
- The deadline for accepting an offer of admission to Arts Co-op, Science Co-op, or Business and Economics Co-op is 10 a.m. on Monday, October 2, 2023.
User Experience Design Co-op
- We will notify candidates of our admission decisions by email in the afternoon on Monday, October 2, 2023.
- The deadline for accepting a conditional offer of admission to User Experience Design Co-op is 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
Computer Science Co-op and Data Science Co-op
- We will notify candidates of our admission decisions by email in the afternoon on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
- The deadline for accepting a conditional offer of admission to Computer Science Co-op or Data Science Co-op is 12 p.m. on Friday, December 1, 2023.
Extenuating Circumstances
Follow the link below to see the extenuating circumstances we will accept during the admissions interview process.
We will consider extenuating circumstances that may have an impact on one of the following:
- your performance during the interview
- your marks in first year
- your ability to work
- your ability to participate in volunteer service and extracurricular activities
Note:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global effect on the economy and the labour market, and has therefore had an impact on all candidates. For this reason, we will not consider the pandemic as an extenuating circumstance for any individual student.
- If you became seriously ill with COVID-19, or if you were the primary caregiver for a member of your immediate family (parent, sibling or child) who was ill with COVID-19, you may ask us to consider as an extenuating circumstance the effects of this situation on your marks, work experience, or volunteer or extracurricular activities.
If you would like us to consider your extenuating circumstances during the interview process, send a request to coopadmissions@wlu.ca at least 48 hour before your interview. You must include:
- a written explanation, in no more than 500 words, or one page, of your extenuating circumstances and the impact they had on either your interview performance, your marks in first year, your ability to work, or your ability to participate in volunteer service and extracurricular activities.
- supporting documentation*
- included your name and Laurier student number in the subject line of your email.
*See accepted extenuating circumstances, below, for details on supporting documentation.
Accepted Extenuating Circumstances
A learning disability that your educational institution was unable to accommodate, or that will have an impact on your performance in an interview.
Provide documentation from the Accessible Learning Centre (or from another university, if applicable).
A death in your immediate family (parent, legal guardian, sibling or child) during your first year at university. We will not consider deaths of friends or other relatives, including grandparents, unless they were your legal guardians.
Provide documentation of a death in your immediate family (parent, legal guardian, sibling or child).
Please provide supporting documentation such as medical notes and approval of petitions.
Show that you had a chronic health problem in first year that had a serious and ongoing impact on your life or that you had an acute and serious illness that required significant intervention in order for you to complete your first year of university.
We will not consider common illnesses such at mononucleosis, influenza, strep throat or medical conditions related to wisdom teeth or fractured limbs.
A serious and prolonged illness that occurred during your first year at university. We will not consider common illnesses such at mononucleosis, influenza, strep throat or medical conditions related to wisdom teeth or fractured limbs.
Provide documentation that you received ongoing medical treatment, missed considerable time from classes, and that the illness had an impact on your ability to submit assignments and write exams. (If at Laurier, include verification such as messages from faculty members and approval of petitions.)Admission Decisions, Feedback and Appeals
- If you accept admission to co-op, you agree to follow the co-op student code of conduct and the admission conditions for your program.
Arts Co-op, Science Co-op, and Business and Economics Co-op
- We will notify candidates of our admission decisions by email at 2 p.m. on Friday, September 29, 2023.
- The deadline for accepting an offer of admission to Arts Co-op, Science Co-op, or Business and Economics Co-op is 10 a.m. on Monday, October 2, 2023.
User Experience Design Co-op
- We will notify candidates of our admission decisions by email in the afternoon on Monday, October 2, 2023.
- The deadline for accepting a conditional offer of admission to User Experience Design Co-op is 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
Computer Science Co-op and Data Science Co-op
- We will notify candidates of our admission decisions by email in the afternoon on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
- The deadline for accepting a conditional offer of admission to Computer Science Co-op or Data Science Co-op is 12 p.m. on Friday, December 1, 2023.
The admission decisions and feedback webinar summarizes the admission process in 2022 and explains how to request feedback about your interview.
Students who wanted feedback from their interviewer in 2022 were required to watch the co-op admission decisions and feedback webinar for Computer Science and Data science students.
We produce a new webinar in late fall each year.
Requesting Feedback, Computer Science and Data Science
After you view the admission decision and feedback webinar, you may ask for a meeting to review your interview with your interviewer. In 2022, the deadline for requesting feedback was noon on Thursday, December 8, 2022. (Open the tab above to find the link to the webinar.)
If you requested feedback from your interviewer, you were invited to attend a scheduled appointment on Wednesday, December 14 or Thursday, December 15, 2022.
In 2022, students requested a feedback meeting by sending an email to coopadmissions@wlu.ca by 12 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2022.
Appeals, Computer Science and Data Science
You may appeal the admission decision only if you attended a feedback meeting.
Please address your message of appeal to Colleen Myronyk, Director, Co-operative Education and Workplace Partnerships, and send it by email to coopadmissions@wlu.ca.
The deadline for sending an appeal in 2022 was 12 p.m. on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
We are not able to consider appeals which are based on:
- information you did not provide or develop fully in the interview
- criticism of the current admission process
- technical issues which occurred during your co-op admission interview.
We can consider appeals if you provide:
- Evidence that the decision not to admit you was unfair because interviewers didn’t use the advertised criteria (marks, work experience, volunteer and extracurricular activities, and performance in the interview) to make their admission decision.
Watch a webinar summarizing this year's admission process and explaining how to request feedback about your interview.
Please note that you do not have permission to record this webinar.
You may request feedback from your interviewers only after viewing the admission decisions and feedback webinar.
Business and Economics Co-op
After you viewed the admission decision and feedback webinar, you were allowed to ask for a meeting to review your interview with your interviewers. The deadline for requesting feedback was 12 p.m. on Friday, October 7, 2022.
If you requested feedback from interviewers, you were invited to attend a scheduled appointment on Tuesday, October 18 or Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
To request a feedback meeting:
- Copy the numbered sentences below, and the declaration, and paste into an email.
- Provide the information requested.
- The deadline for sending your email to coopadmissions@wlu.ca was by 12 noon on Friday, October 7, 2022.
- Please summarize what you remember telling us about your employment in the last three years, including your roles and contributions.
- Please summarize what you remember telling us about your volunteer and extracurricular activities in your first year at university.
- Please summarize what you remember telling us about your volunteer and extracurricular and activities in the previous two years.
- Please summarize what you remember telling us about a time when you solved a problem.
- A) Please summarize what you remember telling us when we asked you to tell us about two or three accomplishments.
B) Please summarize what you remember telling us when we asked you if the global pandemic caused any gaps in your work, volunteer or extracurricular activities about anything you accomplished during the gaps.
Note: If you provided detail about extenuating circumstances before your interview, please include a brief summary of what you told us during the interview about the impact of your extenuating circumstances.
Declaration:
I hereby declare that I have entered only details I remember mentioning during my admission interview.
If you wish to appeal the admission decision, please send your reasons by email to Colleen Myronyk, Director, Co-operative Education & Workplace Partnerships. (Please note that we will accept written appeals only.)
You may appeal only if you viewed the admission decision and feedback webinar and attended a feedback appointment with interviewers. The deadline for sending an appeal was noon on Friday, October 21, 2022.
Business and Economics students who appeal decisions will receive a reply by email. (In 2022, the date for replies was Friday, November 11, 2022.)
We are not able to consider appeals which are based on:
- information you did not provide or develop fully in the interview or
- criticism of the current admission process or
- technical issues which occurred during your co-op admission interview.
We are able to consider appeals if you provide:
- Evidence that the decision not to admit you was unfair because interviewers didn’t use the advertised criteria (marks, work experience, volunteer and extracurricular activities, and performance in the interview) to make their admission decision.
Requesting Interview Feedback
If we do not offer you admission to Arts Co-op or Science Co-op and you wish to receive feedback from your interviewer, please email coopadmissions@wlu.ca to schedule a meeting.
The deadline for calling to request a feedback meeting was noon on Friday, October 7, 2022.
We provided feedback during appointments on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
Appeals
If you are an Arts or Science student who wishes to appeal the admission decision, after attending a feedback meeting, you will be asked to submit your reasons in writing to Colleen Myronyk, Director, Co-operative Education and Workplace Partnerships.
The deadline for sending an appeal was noon on Friday, October 21, 2022.
We are not able to consider appeals which are based on:
- information you did not provide or develop fully in the interview or
- criticism of the current admission process or
- technical issues which occurred during your co-op admission interview.
We are able to consider appeals if you provide:
- Evidence that the decision not to admit you was unfair because interviewers didn’t use the advertised criteria (marks, work experience, volunteer and extracurricular activities, and performance in the interview) to make their admission decision.
If you are an Arts and Science student who appeals the admission decision, you will learn the results of your appeal on Friday, November 11, 2022. Appeal decisions are final.
Resources for Students Who Do Not Receive an Offer of Admission to Co-op
You are not alone, as there is considerable competition for admission to co-op. Here are some links to resources for finding employment, and for improving your performance in future competitions.
Marks:
- If you are looking for assistance improving your academic performance, visit Laurier's Study Skills and Course Support website.
Interview Performance:
- You may attend an interview success workshop through Laurier's Career Centre to get tips for future interviews.
- As a Laurier student, you have access to job postings for summer, part-time and permanent roles through the Career Centre. You can also get support in writing resumes and cover letters.
- The Students' Union provides links to campus clubs and Volunteer Canada has links to volunteer centres across the country.