Quote:
Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi
Co-ops at Drexel are based on academic achievement as well as marketable skills. For me, at least, FRC is a hobby. My point was if I don't do well academically I'm not likely to get the co-ops I'm aiming for.
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I put my "relevant activities" (including both my high school participation and current FIRST mentoring) before my "relevant classwork" and previous employment on my resume. My FIRST experience definitely helped me land my co-op position.
Especially coming out of Freshman year into your first co-op cycle, it's hard to differentiate yourself. You've all taken (more or less) the same classes up to that point, and few (basically none) of them are really specialized towards what you'd be doing specifically at any co-op position.
I'm not saying that you should automatically mentor a team just to put it on your resume. Especially given that you already have FIRST experience from when you were in high school. But, having things to separate yourself from the crowd and the networking connections you make through FIRST can be very helpful in finding a desirable co-op.
GPA is important, especially in terms of landing you an interview in the first place. But it's far from the only factor that weighs on an employers mind.