How hard is it to get accepted into CS at waterloo?

[zaikul]

Im currently grade 11 and waterloo was the university I wanted to go to since grade 9. Nothing has came close to changing my mind. So the jump from g10 to g11 caught me by surprise and my averages dropped a bit. I think my average by the end of g11 wil be around high 88-92. That makes me worry a bit. I hope to improve in g12 and bump my mark to around 94, 95. Math was a huge jump from g10 to g11. Average dropped from 94 to 88 currently. Is there anything else I can do to make my AIF look better when I apply? Also how exactly does admission work? I heard offers usually go out in late april or early may. So do final exams for g12 second semester not factor into admission?

[Tony]

CS at UWaterloo is competitive, but your goals are in the right ballpark.

It's been a while since I've applied. Back in the day participation in UWaterloo's Math and CS contests were a way to improve AIF. There might be a letter of recommendation involved from your Math teacher, but this could have easily changed -- try to find last year's AIF to take a look.

Final grade 12 exams count in a way that the offers are conditional -- the offer is valid only if your grades don't drop below a specific number. But since most of the offers go out before the exams, it's not a good plan to hope to bump your grades with the finals (plausible, but the spots might have been filled up by then).

[Nathan4102]

I'm a first year at Waterloo, I'll post a bit about my admission experiences and life at Waterloo later today.

Edit: oh I forgot about that avatar ha-ha

[zaikul]

Nathan4102 @ Fri Nov 20, 2015 8:06 am wrote:

I'm a first year at Waterloo, I'll post a bit about my admission experiences and life at Waterloo later today.

Edit: oh I forgot about that avatar ha-ha

I have a few questions if you don't mind answering.

1. What was your admission average and score for CCC and Euclid if you did them? Also did you have any extra circulars that helped you get accepted? I heard alot of stories of people being accepted that are leaders of clubs and do A LOT of extra circulars. I basically have non so far in grade 11 and if it isn't too late, I'm going to try to get involved. But idk what to get involved it. Also I heard AIF is mandatory this year so I'm guessing extra circulars will help.

2. What was the cutoff average?

3. How hard is g12 compared to g11?

4. How is life at uWaterloo? I heard alot of great stories about it and online tour made it look really good.

I can't think of any other university i want to go too. UofT is my second option but its far from my first. UofT just seems less exiting and I'm just not convinced. Plus waterloo is the only university my parents want me to go to.

[Nathan4102]

I've covered most of your questions in this post here:

http://compsci.ca/v3/viewtopic.php?p=289746#289746

My CCC score wasn't great, nor was my Euclid. I actually don't remember them, but they weren't impressive at all. I did, though, have lots of extra-curriculars. Mainly extra-curricular entrepreneurial efforts I'd made in the tech area (Computer repair business, program sales).

The AIF is mandatory every year AFAIK, extra-curriculars will always help. You're still in grade 11, so you have about a year to build up an AIF that stands out. Maybe learn a programming language or two and work on a side project? Waterloo likes initiative, so think of what you can do that will show that.

Grade 12 isn't that much harder than grade 11, but there is a lot more pressure. If you want to go to Waterloo, you need to aim for 95+ in Computer Studies courses and Maths courses. Depending on your school, teachers, and math ability, that may or may not require a lot of work.