I totally agree with you Betty, I will tell the student the same thing to get more exposure to the industry environment and take masters courses which teaches about the how the things work in the Industry. Also try to get the internships and CO-OP when you are in undergrad, Industry will love hiring someone with a little experience then the one with nothing. I strongly suggest doing research to undergrad but not all four years, I will say do research in you freshmen and sophomore year and based on that experience try to get Internships and CO-OP’s. I will say don’t stress about you GPA too much that it has to be 3.9 to get a job that being said don’t fall in to category that your GPA so bad that you will get a probation, maintain it between 3.2 to 3.5 means you getting decent grades, because GPA will help you to get your first job, after that no one really care about your GPA. After that it all depends on your luck and most important you connections.
I wish I have started applying to internships in my sophomore year, so I can have at least 2 years of industry experience before I graduate with my undergraduate degree.