I'm looking into Computer Science as a career and have some various questions regarding computer science and Waterloo specifically. I've heard Waterloo is one of our best Computer Science university, and being about 30 minutes from home makes it very appealing. I'm looking into heading into Grade 12 with a 85, 87 average at most.
1) I realize it's my Grade 12 marks that are true impact here, but in terms of Early Admission is there anything I can do to help myself out here? 85 seems rather 'border-line' and from what I can tell, early admission is usually granted to those above the line.
2) While Waterloo would first pick, and I'm fairly confident come Year 12 I can get in, I'm keen on more closer solutions in the Waterloo area, that might even be closer to my area whilst still providing a decent education. Any suggestions? Please use facts and not a bias opinion, it would be appreciated.
(Note: Does completing a PLAR in Grade 11 Computer Science (ISC 3U) count for much?)
1) The first round marks (midterms / first term) + AIF (additional information form) at the time of application will be your most contributing factors to an early admittance. They specifically check for CCC/Euclid too, but unless you've done them before, you can only checkmark the intention to write those (the results should be in by the final decision times though).
2) Kitchener-Waterloo area is also home to Wilfrid Laurier, and Conestoga College, but obviously those are nowhere near the same quality of CS education.
Did extremely well in CCC last year, intending to write it again. Also wrote Euclid this year, although poor performance as expected. That test is SOMETHING. Will a strong first term of Grade 12 help me out, then? (I'll only be taking 2 or 3 courses sadly as I have a PLAR and am ahead a credit)
2) I looked at both, I heard McMaster and Guelph weren't bad.
Yes, a strong first term will help, but even if you do get an early acceptance, keep in mind that those are conditional and you'd have to maintain your grades anyway.
2) If you are looking at UWaterloo quality, the downtown campus of the University of Toronto is a strong recommendation. Those two are deemed to be the top choices. Things get kind of blury between the rest.
Yeah, keeping the grades won't be particularly hard. I was just curious as to what are the advantages of going to Waterloo vs any other place, with the exception of 'quality education'?
"co-op" is the common answer. There's also something to be said about the experience of being in a social circle of students at this level. If we assume that UWaterloo indeed gets a first pick of students, then you get the effect of "mediocre among the best" vs. "best among mediocre". Some students can't handle this, others thrive exceptionally well. UWaterloo's Velocity would be an exaggerated example of this.
Right. So Waterloo will help reputation wise, as well. I looked at Co-Op as well, but fear of not finding a job in a somewhat dying economy is fearful.
Is DWITE something that will help me out if I do fairly well?
Bluntly put, no. DWITE doesn't really help you with university applications. However, it does help you in sharpening your skills which in turn helps you with the CCC (which does count towards your application).
So yeah, participate in DWITE as the questions are really interesting (shameless self-promotion).
Right. So Waterloo will help reputation wise, as well. I looked at Co-Op as well, but fear of not finding a job in a somewhat dying economy is fearful.
Well, if you can't find a co-op job, I don't think you're any worse off than somebody who doesn't have co-op.
Well, I got 2nd for my school for CCC, which isn't bad but then again I need to put myself into perspective for the world. The CCC isn't written in time for me to file my AIF, is it?
Actually, yes you are worse off, as you have to finish 6 out of the 7 available coop terms. Also, you'll be paying more money to be in the coop program, so you would want to get a job to pay off your term fees and possibly for other things (being in CS, I have to pay $600 per term to be in coop I believe).
I have a friend who goes to Waterloo and everytime he's back here he bitterly complains about the depressing nature of that university and overall environment there. Obviously some people love it, I'd suggest actually visiting the school and judging if this is the place where you want to spend the next 4-5 yrs of your life at. I would not limit myself to two schools, I've heard great things about Queens and McGill. I think the kind of CS education you will get is similar across most public universities in Canada. What you should look for is if there is something else that is unique about the university that you like. Another thing to consider might be the size of the program. Some universities like Queens have really small CS programs with very few people in them whereas others like Waterloo have massive CS programs. You might prefer one or the other. Also something to consider is the courses that you are required to take, most universities post their required courses on the website, so you might wanna see if your prefer one, for example you might see that University A forces you to take 10 math courses compared to University B that only makes you take 5 and if you hate math that will weight in on your decision.
I'm no economist but I've heard some pretty cruddy stories and Waterloos website lists about an 85% employment rate for students. Whilst this is good, and probably about as good as it will get; there is still the chance that things can go wrong.
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(shameless self-promotion).