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Introductory Statement and Form for Business and Economics Co-op Applicants
You will receive a link to the Introductory Statement and Form via email. Complete the statement and form only once.
Before You Begin
We are providing the contents of the form so you know what to expect because the form will time out after one hour of inactivity. To help you prepare, see the sample introductory form.
Ensure you are ready to complete the entire form, provide employment history details, and upload your resume. Please do not submit the form more than once.
During the Interview
The interview will last no longer than 15 minutes. You will have an opportunity to verify the information you have entered in the form during your admission interview
Although we require you to submit a resume and complete the introductory form, we will consider only what you tell us during the interview when evaluating your suitability for admission to co-op.
We urge you to answer each question fully during the interview, and to provide examples from your own experience.
Interview Location
Your admission interview will take place as an online video call over Microsoft Teams. You must arrange to have access to the Internet and a device with a webcam and microphone. We will provide a link to information on using Microsoft Teams.
Evaluation Categories
The interviewers will evaluate your strength in each of the following four categories:
- 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
- performance during the interview
We give equal weight to each category.
Your interview is your only opportunity to tell us about your work experience, as we use your resumé for reference only.
We will evaluate the work you performed during the last three years. (For most students, this will be from the beginning of grade 11 to the end of Orientation Week in second year.) We want to hear about your duties and assignments in each position. We especially value jobs in offices or professional environments, and positions with leadership or responsibility.
When comparing candidates, we give higher standing to students who have worked full time for the past three summers than to those who have worked less consistently. Be prepared to tell us how many hours you worked each week for each job. What months and years you worked, and how it would be of interest to a co-op employer.
If you volunteered in a non-profit agency, the last three years, please tell us about that experience when we ask about volunteer service and extracurricular activities during the admission interview.
If you were not employed at some point in the last three years, please be prepared to tell us how you used your time.
When comparing you with other candidates, we consider both the quality and quantity of your work experience.
Quality of work experience
During your admission interview, tell us about your duties and assignments in each position. We especially value jobs in offices or professional environments, and supervisory roles or positions with significant responsibility.
Quantity of work experience
We give higher standing to students who have worked in paid jobs than to those who have worked in unpaid jobs. We anticipate that all students to whom we offer admission in 2023 will have had paid work experience.
We will consider your volunteer service and extracurricular activities at school and in the community in the last three years. For most students, this will be from the beginning of grade 11 to the end of Orientation Week in second year at Laurier.
What We Expect
Please list your roles and tell us about any significant contributions you made.
We will consider all activities, but we tend to value leadership roles more highly than general membership and we tend to value varsity sports more highly than intramurals.
Your interview is your only opportunity to tell us about your volunteer service and extracurricular activities.
When evaluating your interview performance, we will consider the quality of the content and delivery of your answers. Your ability to communicate your skills and accomplishments is a key component of the interview.
When telling us how you have developed specific skills, please use examples from experiences other than class competitions such as the New Venture project. (It is challenging to stand out when referring to a project required for all BBA students.)
We will also consider your ability to be concise and stay within the 15 minutes allotted.
At the end of the admission interview, we will ask you to tell us anything you wish to add in support of your application. Be sure to tell us about any accomplishments or experience you have not had an opportunity to mention earlier, including how you used your time if you were unable to secure employment during the last three summers.
Verifying Information
We expect you to present your skills and experience truthfully and factually. We reserve the right to verify information you provided. Any students who have misrepresented themselves will be ineligible for enrolment in the co-op program. We also reserve the right to review your academic status and history with the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics.
Admission Decisions
We notify all candidates of our admission decision by email. If you receive an offer of admission, you will also receive instructions on accepting the offer by the deadline.
Arts Co-op, Science Co-op, and Business and Economics Co-op
- At 2 p.m. on Friday, September 29, 2023, we will send a message to your Laurier email address to let you know whether we are offering you admission to co-op.
- 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.
Sample Introductory Form
Please complete all the information at least four business days before your admission interview for Business and Economics Co-op in 2023.
Thank you for applying to co-op.
- Please review the introductory statement below. (It includes an explanation of your admission interview.)
- Confirm that you have read the introductory statement and verify that the information on your resumé is truthful; see “Confirm and Verify” below.
- If you are an international student, please let us know of any period when you were not eligible to work in Canada; see “Eligibility” below.
- Upload your resumé.
- List your work experience.
- If you are a BBA student, select your preferred sequence of work and study terms.
Please be prepared to complete the entire form, and upload a resumé, in one sitting. (The system will time you out after one hour of inactivity.) You will have an opportunity to verify the information you have entered during your admission interview. Please do not complete a second form.
Although we require a resumé, we will consider only what you tell us during the interview when evaluating your suitability for admission to co-op. We urge you to answer each question fully, and to provide examples from your own experience. The interview will last no longer than 15 minutes.
Introductory Statement
I, the Undersigned
- have read the introductory statement.
- verify that the information in my resume is accurate and factual and I have included a line stating this in my resume.
- have provided the name and contact information (phone and or email) of my direct supervisor.
- agree to provide accurate and factual information during my admission interview.
- acknowledge I do NOT have permission to record the co-op admission interview.
For international students:
At any point in the last three years, was there a time when you were not eligible to work in Canada?
- Yes. I was not eligible to work in Canada for a period of time.
- No. I have been eligible to work in Canada the entire time I lived here within the last three years.
Please upload your most recent resume taking into consideration the following items:
- Preferred format of file (.pdf and/or .doc)
- Please name your file with your Last name, First name (Smith, Sam - Resume 2023)
- Please ensure you have a photo in your resume to help the interviewers verify your identity
(You will see a box where you can drop or upload files.)
Form Format
- Please provide details about your work experience over the last three years.
- Please provide this information in reverse chronological order; start with your most recent job and work backwards.
- Please indicate, when prompted, whether you received payment for each job.
- (Please note that we place a higher value on paid work than on unpaid work.)
- Please provide information about what you did during any of the last three summers that you were unemployed.
Most Recent Job
Business Name:
Job Title:
Dates of Employment (Month Year - Month Year (e.g. May 2023 - August 2023):
Number of hours worked per week:
Did you receive payment of at least minimum wage for the work? (yes or no):
Previous Job
Business Name:
Job Title:
Dates of Employment (Month Year - Month Year; Example: January 2022 - February 2023):
Number of hours worked per week:
Was the work paid (at least minimum wage)? (yes or no):
Job Before That, Within Last Three Years
Business Name:
Job Title:
Dates of Employment (Month Year - Month Year; Example: June to August 2021):
Number of hours worked per week:
Did you receive payment of at least minimum wage for the work? (yes or no):
Job Before That, Within Last Three Years
Business Name:
Job Title:
Dates of Employment (Month Year - Month Year; Example: March 2021 to August 2021):
Number of hours worked per week:
Did you receive payment of at least minimum wage for the work?(yes or no):
Any Additional Employment information from the past three years must follow the same format as above.
What program are you in?
BBA
ECON