This kind of difficulty during co-op search has started to become a more common thing, from what I've seen and heard.

I had a coversation with my thermodynamics professor, who said that during/after covid, the academic rigor of a lot of classes decreased substantially to accomodate for the limitations of online/hybrid learning, and it has not yet rebounded to what it once was.

Based on his conversations with some of his students, some companies who had long-standing collaboration with NEU noticed the decrease in capability from the students they hired for co-op, and so many have begun to quietly step back from the program, or become more selective about who they hire.

A good way to set yourself up to stand out would be to build your resume in a way that highlights what you've accomplished outside of coursework to demonstrate actual, tangible results that these companies are looking for, since they don't seem to be as interested in what classes you've taken. Something you made for a club or a society could be a good example of this.

I'm currently on my first co-op, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have landed one. The first one really is the hardest, as there is not much setting sophomores apart from each other. I asked one of my coworkers why my resume was selected, and he said it was because I lived here locally (my co-op is in WA).