I just got done interviewing for post grad jobs, I'm a graduating 5th year CS student. I would the thing that made companies notice me the most was my work exp

I just got done interviewing for post grad jobs, I'm a graduating 5th year CS student. I would the thing that made companies notice me the most was my work experience. I love to work, I've had a programmer summer job since I was a sophomore in high school (REU programs). During my undergrad I did a 6 month Co-op at IBM and a Six month Co-op at MIT Lincoln Lab. These kinds of experiences really make you stand out from other grads in my experience. So I would just say always have a side project during school besides your regular school work, and always try super hard to get a summer Internship/Co-op. It's definitely not too late for summer 2011 in my opinion, I've had offers for Co-op's way later in the game than this. Also for interviews the following book is invaluable: http://amzn.com/047012167X http://amzn.com/047012167X It helped me with my Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google interviews.