<p>Hi all this fall I will be entering rensselaer Polytechnc institute in the field of biomedical engineering. I've been going through this thread and I'm learning a lot about the importance of GPA, interns, extracurriculars, etc and my question is: when is the most appropriate time to start applying for internships and becoming an intern? Like summer of freshman, junior year etc or during the schoo year of that's the case? Also RpI has a co-op program how important is it that I try and enter it and is that basically the equivalent of an intern or an even better experience in the eyes of companies and recruiters? Thanks</p>
<p>Can’t answer anything else, but at Pitt they say that about 86% of students who do co-ops there get hired by the company they co-op with. So you might want to look into those and see what the stats are like at RPI. Seems like an awesome deal to me, get paid to gain actual work experience and almost guarantee a job right after school for the cost of staying in school about half a year longer. But for all I know there’s a catch I haven’t heard about yet >.<</p>
<p>Either way, worth considering/looking into it more.</p>
<p>^ and there really is no extra cost (besides inflation). You only pay tuition for semesters actually taking classes. You do not pay tuition while on co-op. It may take an extra half or full year to graduate, but co-op students pay for the same 8 semesters as everyone else.</p>