lots of questions about waterloo

[Horus]

So, yea, I have finally been accepted to comp sci coop @ waterloo.

Now there are lots of questions going around my head. I would appreciate if anyone who goes to waterloo could answer any of them.

1. If you take comp sci coop and your friend takes mathematics coop is there any chance that we'll have the same class together?
2. Same as question one, except if your friend takes comp engineer.
3. How hard is waterloo math? (i've heard rumors of ppl who gets 90s in high school and comes to waterloo to get 50s)
4. If you fail the first test at waterloo, will you be kicked out immediately (again, another rumor i heard about a friend's friend, who got kicked out after taking a test @ waterloo)
5. How much spare time does an average first year have?
6. What's the average class size?
7. For coop, what's the chance of you getting into a big company such as google, microsoft, IBM and etc.
8. I've heard a rumor that in 3rd year, you have to code an operating system which means no sleep for the entire year is that true?
9. Are there many scholarship programs that you can apply while in waterloo? if so, what's the ratio of people who gets the scholarship out of the entire school?
10. I heard that there's no tests @ waterloo, just a mid term exam and final exam. Some courses have projects but professors marks very leniently, is that true?

that's all for now.

And if anyone can share their waterloo experience, it would be great.

[bugzpodder]

Horus @ Fri May 08, 2009 6:28 pm wrote:

So, yea, I have finally been accepted to comp sci coop @ waterloo.

Now there are lots of questions going around my head. I would appreciate if anyone who goes to waterloo could answer any of them.

1. If you take comp sci coop and your friend takes mathematics coop is there any chance that we'll have the same class together?
you pick your courses. as long as you are in the same stream you can choose to take as many or as little courses together as you want.
2. Same as question one, except if your friend takes comp engineer.
see above.

3. How hard is waterloo math? (i've heard rumors of ppl who gets 90s in high school and comes to waterloo to get 50s)
It varies. I think its very easy. Some say its very hard. depends on ur skills.

4. If you fail the first test at waterloo, will you be kicked out immediately (again, another rumor i heard about a friend's friend, who got kicked out after taking a test @ waterloo)
Your friend's friend is an idiot. Don't listen to him.

5. How much spare time does an average first year have?
All depends on you. You can game all day or study all day.

6. What's the average class size?
Depends on a class. Goes from 30 to 300.

7. For coop, what's the chance of you getting into a big company such as google, microsoft, IBM and etc.
Your resume and interview skills matter.

8. I've heard a rumor that in 3rd year, you have to code an operating system which means no sleep for the entire year is that true?
No. Its not that hard as every CE or CS student takes it.

9. Are there many scholarship programs that you can apply while in waterloo? if so, what's the ratio of people who gets the scholarship out of the entire school?
It's not about the ratio. Your grades matter here.

10. I heard that there's no tests @ waterloo, just a mid term exam and final exam. Some courses have projects but professors marks very leniently, is that true?
For most classes this is true. Probably not, depends on the prof.

that's all for now.

And if anyone can share their waterloo experience, it would be great.
do a search.

[Tony]

bugz covered it pretty well. Although he's above average in Math, so expect a drop in grades. 70% is a good mark to have. 80% is very good to have. I would ballpark an average drop to be 15~20%. Although it really depends on your work habits.

Your friends have crappy rumors. They could have at least spread some interesting stories... like how RTOS ruins relationships, and about Pants-free zones on campus.

[saltpro15]

Tony @ Fri May 08, 2009 wrote:

Your friends have crappy rumors. They could have at least spread some interesting stories... like how RTOS ruins relationships, and about Pants-free zones on campus.

pants free zones? you have my undivided attention

[endless]

i'm going into Waterloo CS co op as well.

to add to the questions, what average do you have to keep in order to have the opportunity of looking for a co op job? i'm under the impression it is 70% average?

thanks.

[Clayton]

Capture the flag on the 5th floor of MC on Sunday nights anyone?

[Dark]

Thanks for the FAQ lol, I got into Waterloo CS as well I might head there.

[x30Jx]

I demand to know more about this No-Pants section of the Campus.

Do Software Engineering Co-Op students also have to write an OS?

[Ultrahex]

Just cause I feel that questions 1 and 2 were not answered to the best of their ability...

Quote:

1. If you take comp sci coop and your friend takes mathematics coop is there any chance that we'll have the same class together?
2. Same as question one, except if your friend takes comp engineer.

1. If you take computer science co-op and your friends are in mathematics co-op depending on your stream, and the sections you select (for your classes) determines whether you will be in the same class. Since they are both Faculty of Mathematics Degrees, most degrees require the same first year math courses.

2. If your friend takes computer engineer, there is less of a chance for you to be in the same classes. The reason for this is that engineers have different required math, and computer science courses.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Horus @ Fri May 08, 2009 6:28 pm wrote:

3. How hard is waterloo math? (i've heard rumors of ppl who gets 90s in high school and comes to waterloo to get 50s)

There are people like that. It's not because it's "hard". It's because they don't bother to go to lecture, they don't bother to do assignments, they cram for tests the night before... in short, they act as if they were still in high school but all required elements are now optional.

Quote:

4. If you fail the first test at waterloo, will you be kicked out immediately (again, another rumor i heard about a friend's friend, who got kicked out after taking a test @ waterloo)

If you're gullible enough to believe rumours like that, you are going to be the butt of many jokes once you arrive at UW.

Quote:

8. I've heard a rumor that in 3rd year, you have to code an operating system which means no sleep for the entire year is that true?

There is a third-year OS course that involves some coding (both in CS and SE; CE is moving it to second year and changing it, but not this coming year). People who have scraped through the earlier courses and still have lousy work habits find it hard. People who have done well in the earlier courses and have good work habits do not -- although there is a certain macho tendency around here to stay up all night and boast about how hard one is working, especially in certain fourth-year courses.

Quote:

10. I heard that there's no tests @ waterloo, just a mid term exam and final exam. Some courses have projects but professors marks very leniently, is that true?

Do not assume any leniency in marking. Once again: this is not high school. We are permitted to fail people. We do.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Ultrahex @ Sat May 09, 2009 9:34 am wrote:

2. If your friend takes computer engineer, there is less of a chance for you to be in the same classes. The reason for this is that engineers have different required math, and computer science courses.

"Less of a chance" equals zero. Late in the CE program there may be space for an elective or two, and then you can take that with your friend. Otherwise, Engineering students take all their classes with the same set of people (their "cohort").

[Horus]

some more questions:

1. for the english test you have to take, how hard is it? can someone who gets 60s in English pass?
what if you fail the english test and also fail the english course?

2. for the advanced math courses available how hard is it? what's the benefit of going in? should i go in? i have a euclid score of 74.

3. Can you chose to take chemistry in university if u don't have gr 12 chemistry?

[Prabhakar Ragde]

1. You basically have to write five coherent paragraphs. Some people with lousy English marks pass fine, some with 80+ in English fail.

2. They're for the top 5-10%. Benefit is more challenge. You can't choose them automatically with a Euclid of 74 but you can get an advisor to sign you in in September.

3. They have something equivalent to Grade 12 Chemistry for people who need to make up prerequisites.

[SJ]

What kind of score do you need to be automatically placed in the advanced math/cs courses?

[jbking]

There are a couple of benefits to taking the advanced Math courses, IMO:

1) If you plan on having a Pure Math major or taking courses in Pure Math, then the advanced courses tend to focus more on proofs rather than examples which may be useful.
2) If you prefer smaller classes, this is the way to go. However, beware of the shrinking class if you take this route as I think there were only a handful of us when we got to 2nd year courses. There were 6 of us in that Math 247 class of Winter '95.

I did take the advanced courses a while back, so maybe some things have changed.