what should i do ?

[implosion]

okay so i've got my 3 exams coming up (1 tomorrow 2 on Friday)... right now I'm getting 67% in physics, 77 in adv. functions and 75 in chem... and i really want to go to Waterloo... but for every repeated course Waterloo takes 1% off your average.. i'm planning on choosing CE, CS, SE. next semester i have calculus, English, CE, CS. I'm confident i can get high 80s in CE, CS... as for calculus and English I'm praying to get 85 in... my question is what should i do... study more for math since my mark is higher in it ? and then come back and take chem and physics and only get 2% off... or take all 3 next year again and take 3% off. thing i've realized is that lets say i do take chem physics and adv. functions again... best case scenario i get 85 in calc. and English and 90 in compsci/engineering... I'd need a 90 in chem/functions/physics to get a 85.3% average to get into that mid 80s that Waterloo wants.

i know not getting into waterloo isn't the end of the world.. but its the univeristy i actually loved.. only con i had about it was the size of the dorm in one of the housing.. other universities that i considered (mac and uoft). were okay.. mac i didn't mind the campus set up.. dorms were nice.. but there was just one huge building with everything in it and super crowded. i enjoyed how the program was set up thou.

[smoovee]

Not to sound pessimistic or anything, but what makes you think you can raise your marks THAT much if you retake them?
Also you are not even guaranteed to get in to SE (you sound mid-80s right?) with an 85.3%

The thing about retaking a course is that if you do decide to retake the course you need to get at least 6%(if you have a total of 6 courses) better just to keep the same average if what you are saying is true. (about them taking 1% off your final average)

[Horus]

I think you should apply for sience in waterloo if you really want to go there (high 70s only) but it's kinda too late...

[implosion]

i know i can get near to a 90 in adv. functions.. i would have this year, except during my holy month i was fasting. and bombed the first two tests... hard to focus when your super hungry.. lol as for chemistry, i'm pretty sure i could get a high 80s. as for physics a realistic answer would be mid 80s. reason my physics mark is so bad this year is because i was super behind on everything we were doing. now that i know whats going on i think i could do better, our teacher writes horrible notes, lol.

whats the difference between computer science and computational science ?

oh i also got the compsci award in gr. 11 ... how much do you think waterloo would like that on my AIF ?

[Prabhakar Ragde]

implosion @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:19 pm wrote:

whats the difference between computer science and computational science ?

http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/prospect/faq.shtml

[implosion]

thanks for that link

okay guys.. to be realistic... there is no way I'm gonna be able to get into Waterloo.. even if i do take a victory lap.. because the way my marks are.. (it'd be a miracle if i did)...I'll be lucky to pull off a low 80s.. even if i do repeat chem/physics/adv. func ... my physics mark is now after righting my exam in the mid 60s.. and my chem mark is now low 70s... going to be writing my functions exam tomorrow...

now my question is... how hard is it to transfer from one university to another during my undergrad.. and for doing my graduates... the only university that i will be able to make in (i believe) will be mcmaster, if i take a victory lap... really don't like the campus.. (one big building with everything in it) but i guess i could get used to it...

[Dan]

Lots of university (if not most) accept students with marks in the 70s. I would say you have good odds at getting in to most university's in Ontario if you can keep your average there.

You don't have to go to Waterloo to get a good job or be good in a computer related filed of study.

My recommendation is to pick witch program you relay want and fits you best and then apply to 3 diffrent universities for the same program. I think it is more important to be in the right program at a good university then to be in the wrong program at the university with the best reputation.

For more info on the difrences between the diffrent degrees in computers/tehcnogly see tony's blog post here: http://compsci.ca/blog/6-degrees-of-computer-science/

As for chaning universitys it is posible but you might lose some credits that are not the same at each universitiy, witch could mean adding a term on to your program. It would be a considerable amount of work so you would want to be sure that you want to make the change.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Waterloo is not the only place to do CE, CS, or SE. Get into the best place you can, and make the most of its opportunities. Every university has things that are good and things that are awful. Focus on the good. It's really about an opportunity for you to learn. A Waterloo graduate who just scraped through because of laziness or poor work habits is probably a worse prospect than someone from a "lesser" school who went at it 110%.

[saltpro15]

this is somewhat unrelated, but I don't really know where else to ask, what would be a good average for waterloo acceptance?

[Prabhakar Ragde]

I don't think either of these three programs accept students with averages below 80%. The exact cut-off depends on the applicant pool, and marks are not the only factor -- someone with a lower average and a good AIF might get in over someone with a higher average and no AIF.

[saltpro15]

AIF? :S you lost me

[zero-impact]

Admission Information Form.
It is an opportunity for you to tell waterloo more about yourself.
Here is a link.

[saltpro15]

thanks lawson I'm applying to waterloo probably. U of T is my backup, or mcmaster.

[smoovee]

Prabhakar Ragde @ Sat Jan 24, 2009 5:03 pm wrote:

I don't think either of these three programs accept students with averages below 80%.

I'm not 100% sure but if he applied to St. George they might.

http://www.electronicinfo.ca/en/program-details.php?pcode=0_190206_203_0

[ali_dada]

You are at the age where you have to make right decisions and wise ones as well.

Allow me to give me my own example,

Back when I was in Grade 12, I had similar marks as you (just a little higher in physics) and a 70% in calculus. My overall average was 78%.

I ended up choosing electrical engineering at Ryerson. From day 1, I had a tough time in engineering. The math and physics was beyond my expectations. Introductory electrical engineering courses blew me away. Well, I tried my best but after 2 years, I realized that engineering just wasn't for me. I ended up switching to Computer Science and have never looked back since.

Now I am getting amazing marks and am on scholarship and was lucky enough to work as a programmer at one of Canada's largest banks for 15 months. I am going to graduate in couple of months and the following is my finding:

. Rewind to 2003 when I was choosing University and programs, initially I wanted to go into ITM at Ryerson - should have gone into that. Would have skipped all the hard Maths and Science and by the time I would have graduated (2007) the IT sector was pretty good and by now I would have had a good IT job.

. I am glad I didn't go into Bio-Informatics at Waterloo or Computer Science at UFT - I simply don't have high enough intelligence to do good there.

Look, if you are like me - a person who just wants to graduate with good marks and get a job in IT, look for easy programs at Universities offering IT or Computer Science degrees and go there. With marks like yours, it would be a miracle if you graduate from Waterloo or UFT without spending a extra year or two and with good marks.

The only regret I have is spending 2 more years to graduate - the economy is horrible and I am getting absolutely no job offers despite work experience and references and superb marks. I fear I would have to return in September to spend 2 more years doing MSc. Computer Science.