By Erin Engelson

This January, Northeastern students will stow their jeans and hoodies in the closet and don the business suits and dress shoes of the working world.

For students, especially sophomores, the Jan. 3 start date of Northeastern’s spring session of the cooperative education program may be a student’s first introduction to a professional working environment.

“I’m really anxious,” said Justin Helfman, a sophomore marketing major. “I’m anxious about pretty much everything: Getting a job, interviews and how I am going to do at my job.”

“Co-op” is a system in which students alternate semesters of school with semesters of real world job experience in their field of study. The program has been a selling point for Northeastern since its No. 1 ranking for cooperative education by U.S. News and World Report in 2003.

To help students with the transition from classes to the working world, each major has a support system that includes advisors and required seminar classes.

Biochemistry and biology co-op advisor Ronnie Porter said the seminar is very important for r