It's damn near impossible to get a good job in first year (if you can find one; a lot of people are having trouble nowadays given the state of the job market). That's why it's usually better to delay co-op till second year. Just my observations and opinion.

study-work-study in first year? is that only for engineering?

Depends, check which stream you are in.

I got hit pretty hard by the co-op streaming come second term. My best friend had a co-op job in Seattle and two of my other closest friends were off in Toronto. So it's definitely hard that way. We were talking via IM every day, but it's just not the same as hanging out in Timmy's for hours or getting up to mischief. It's hard on relationships, too ;) Most don't last co-op off-streaming as far as I know, let alone a term apart.

But this also is probably a healthy thing, socially. Prevents you and your social group from becoming too inbred. I make new friends every academic term, which is pretty awesome, and in fact some of my newer friends are closer than the older ones. This maybe pushes you out of your comfort zone but if the new friendships mean nothing for you, it's certainly healthy for networking! (Or lots more opportunities for 4 month hookups, if you want to look at it that way...)

Coop or no coop your going to have to look for a job. Just sitting around doing summers is going to be a disadvantage later. If you want more specific information on coop check out my old ask me anything thread.

To the OP, yes going on coop every other semester can be annoying with your friends. You will most likely meet people in your stream though so your in school in the same time as them.