Disclaimer: I'm in a medium sized city in the midwest that has developer jobs but none for large corporations that sell software, so my advice here may be a bit

Disclaimer: I'm in a medium sized city in the midwest that has developer jobs but none for large corporations that sell software, so my advice here may be a bit skewed. Co-ops/internships: this is where you get your real experience and in the trenches learning. Sure, theory is all good in the classroom but if you actually worked with something 40hrs a week for 4+ months, it says a lot more about what you can accomplish for a possible employer. I've only once had an interviewer look at my transcripts (to my knowledge, they may have been accessible to any of the co-op interviewers at my college) and it was for a co-op position and I had no previous work experience in development. After graduating, it's never been requested of me, its almost like employers really don't care what I did at college, just that I graduated. They are far more interested in what I have done professionally in my career and side projects, making things happen outside the classroom is what matters to them. College: I would personally recommend being selective with your courses. Try to find ones where you will learn valuable information, not just get you the credit you need to graduate. This goes for field related (CS) and outside your field (e.g. business courses).