Reviewed on Feb 27, 2025(Enrolled 2023)
What Students Say
Likes
- The Profs are extremely nice and accommodating. They host weekly office hours if you have any doubts or if you are unable to understand a concept and explain things really well. They also have Teaching assistants helping you when they are not available and everyone is well trained. So you will face no difficulty for finding help.
- Waterloo has a robust co-op program, where you have to do at least 5 internships, allowing you to have real-life experience before you even graduate making it easy to get a job in this market. What makes it even better is all the internships you do, you are going to find them yourself, which indirectly helps you understand and experience job hunting, interviewing etc... at a early stage so you don't have to suffer later on.
- The startup culture here is something that I like a lot. Everyone is trying to invent something new and people who did invent are trying to pitch it to investors and get their product in front of customers, not caring whether it will work or fail and so this entire face-paced process at startups is something that I have experienced and love a lot.
Dislikes
- The Curriculum as interesting as it is, it is also extremely hard. They constantly challenge you with assignments, quizzes, midterms, essays and a lot more, most of them being due at the end of the week. So, people usually get overwhelmed and burnt out by the end of the week, everyone just looking forward to the weekend. But not to rest but to slowly do their assignments instead of doing it in a rush, along with going to class during the weekdays.
- The food is extremely costly. I wish I could eat out every single day because it is quite hard to cook or meal prep for the week when you have a really hard curriculum but that is not possible. Since most food places cost a lot to pay for, you are usually forced to cook at the starting of the week for the entire week, taking out time from your busy schedule.
- The university is set in a small city. So if you do have some free time, there's not much to do around here except going out for bowling or clubbing.
Required Exams for Admission
Course Curriculum
8
- Computer Science is one of the hardest course in Waterloo. In first year you have a lot of math related courses, and basic CS courses but in Second things get more CS related. The courses that you take are mostly your choice except the few courses that you are required to take. Some of them are purely Theoretical, Some of them are purely practical but most of them are a mix of both
- The most positive thing that stands out in my course is that in all the courses, they start building up from basic concepts and explaining all the required concepts to reach to the main part of the course so that everyone who has and does not have idea of the required concepts can understand (this is especially useful in upper years).
- The negative aspect is some of the courses are still outdated and teach programming languages that no one uses anymore.
Admission Experience
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I applied to 13 Universities.
1) University of San Diego - Accepted into Data Science
2) University of Irvine - Accepted into Computer Science
3) University of Wisconsin–Madison - Accepted into Computer Science
4) University of Pittsburgh - Accepted into Computer Science
5) Queens University - Accepted into Computer Science
6) Carleton University - Accepted into Computer Science7) University of Alberta - Accepted into Computer Science
8) University of Waterloo - Accepted into Computer science
9) University of Toronto, Mississauga - Accepted into Computer Science
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Rejected from:-
1) University of Toronto, St George - Rejected
I actually never really understood why I got rejected from the St George campus but I guess it would have to be because I didn't do much outside of high-school and these universities require a lot of those things.2) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Rejected
It's really hard to figure what could have possibly gone wrong since universities don't tell that to you, but I would have to guess my extra-curricular activities were mediocre and my sat score was low compared to the requirements, especially since this a prestigious university.3) University of Massachusetts Amherst - Rejected
Probably because I didn't put too much effort into the applications since I treated it as a backup.4) Purdue University - Rejected
I would have to guess my extra-curricular activities were mediocre and my sat score was low compared to the requirements, especially since this a prestigious university.5) Georgia Institute of Technology - Rejected
I would have to guess my extra-curricular activities were mediocre and my sat score was low compared to the requirements, especially since this a prestigious university. - I choose University of Waterloo because of its curriculum. This university is especially known for its robust co-op program where you get a lot of real life experience before you even graduate, which was the main factor that influenced my decision. Another factor that influenced my decision is my parents wanted me to go to Canada instead of the US, which was the reason I applied to Canadian universities, as it was more safer than the US.
- The admission process was pretty straight forward similar to the other colleges, where you apply and what for their reply. All colleges in Ontario have to be applied through the one portal which made it more easy then while applying to other colleges.
- SAT is not Required. IELTS has to be minimum 7 and I had a 8.
- The admission experience was good, after the admission was done and I committed to the university. They hosted tons of online information sessions to know more about the university in detail so that we don't feel new when we arrive at the university.
- I applied to the Fall intake. I choose University of Waterloo because of its curriculum. This university is especially known for its robust co-op program where you get a lot of real life experience before you even graduate, which was the main factor that influenced my decision. Another factor that influenced my decision is my parents wanted me to go to Canada instead of the US, which was the reason I applied to Canadian universities, as it was more safer than the US.
- The admission process took about 6 months. I applied in December, They release their first round of acceptances in march but I didn't get in then. The last round is released in May. but be careful because most of the other Universities require you to commit to them by paying a fee before May 1st. But, Waterloo gives out acceptances even after May. So, if you are still waiting for your acceptance then make sure to have a backup commit to a different University (Yes you will be wasting money if you do get into Waterloo afterwards, but it is worth it , and if you don't then there's no money wasted.)
Class Schedule
8
- Typical everyday you have 2-3 classes but it all depends on how you schedule your classes. I have friends who take all their courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays so they can have their other three days off (this is possible because the same course is offered in multiple timings)
- Average number of students in a class is usually around 100-150
- I cannot estimate a number as it is not public but there are probably around 100 Indian students at least.
Faculty
8
- The faculty to student ratio doesn't really matter, since for each course there are multiple Teaching Assistants helping out students. There is online question board, where the students can post questions, and the Profs or Teaching Assistants give almost instant replies (this is especially useful when you can't see them in person or during exams season).
- Each faculty member has their own style of teaching, you can checkout different professors before choosing to go to one of their classes. everything is really flexible. And yes sometimes if you ask questions that are out of context but are useful, they try to answer them during class but most of the times they answer it later after the class, but the content any university teaches their students is definitely not enough to secure a job, you are always required to learn stuff by your own outside of school.
- There is a entire Waterloo Job board and a team that is dedicating in helping you find a part-time or full-time job.
- I admire my Computer Science profs the most, since most of them are pretty chill and easy-going and they are usually really friendly as well.
Campus Life
10
- My University has only one campus.
- All kinds of facilities are available on campus: Libraries, Sports, Gym, Medical Services, Clubs, Food Places and many more.
- Major clubs at my campus for academics are Data Science club and the UW Reality Labs, for dance are UW Hip Hop and UW Dhamaka, for sports there's a club for every sport.
- Major festival that Waterloo celebrates the best (so much that everyone from other universities nearby come here for it) is St Patty's / St Patrick's Day. There's also a carnival held every Fall which everyone looks forward to.
Part Time Jobs
- Most student can secure the TAs Position if they have the grades that are required for that course when they took it in their previous terms. To get a RA position its a bit more harder because very less teachers ask for Research assistant so there's very les positions.
- The Pay Range is usually around 22-30 dollar per hour.
- You can become a residence don, or Front Desk Assistant at residences. You can also work for UW Food Services in one of the food places. There are several opportunities. The hourly wages are around 18-20 dollars per hour.
- 40 hours is the maximum number of allowed hours per week.
- It's pretty easy to secure part time jobs on campus.
- Most Indian students prefer working part time at one of the food places. They typically earn around 18-20 dollars per hours. It's easy to secure part-time but very hard to do while studying since they take up most of your time. It's searching for jobs either directly on their website or the Waterloo job boards and submitting applications. there usually is an interview to do for most jobs and once you pass that you get the job.
Placement
10
- Almost 95% of the graduating batch secure their employment in the first 6 months. Since the name Waterloo is prestigious and a lot of companies in the US as well hire from here.
- I am not sure about the average salary range but it's probably around a 50-80k starting.
- You can still access the Waterloo job board for finding full-time jobs (the same one you use to find co-ops and internships) since they have tons of jobs from all over the world on there. But you could also use other job websites like indeed, LinkedIn, glass door, Canadian job bank etc...
- There's no Campus recruitment system in Waterloo. So, people usually apply outside or receive a full time offer from one of the places where they interned during their Undergraduate Experience.
- Graduates from Waterloo have worked at top companies like Google, Apple, Meta, Tesla and tons more.
Accommodation
Off Campus
10
- First year was On-Campus, then Off-campus. To find places off-campus there are several stuff you can do, Facebook Marketplace and some other Canadian housing boards.
- My monthly rent was 800 per month but it doesn't remain constant since your mostly moving houses your entire university life because of your co-op program you really dont stay constant at one house.
- The challenges I experiences were mostly price related, most of the houses are pretty costly.
- I would say, a recommendation I would give is to definitely thoroughly checkout the place before you move forward with a house since I have faced some issues in the past when I did it once.
Exams
- IELTS is required to be above 7.0 bands which is the only requirement that the University asks of you.
- You Need to write a few essays, but other than that I do not remember requiring any LOR or CVs. It's mostly filling in your details, like you do for any other College application. You require Statement of Purpose when you apply for your Visa.
- No, I had no interview.
Fees
- The fees is charged semester-wise. For computer Science, in first year my tuition fees was 33000 per semester but now it is 34000. They add additional expenses to that which comes up to 1000-2000 for insurance or co-op fee, it depends on the term. Then if your living on campus, they residences cost around 4000 per term, there are several residences to choose and all of them have different prices. Some residences require you to buy a meal plan while some don't, they cost around 3000 - 3200. But you mostly move out of University after first year and live outside. But since there is a housing crisis, the rent per month usually costs around 800-1200 CAD depends on the place, and If u cook then it should cost you more than 500 per month.
- If you eat out a lot, then it can cost you anywhere between 800-1000 per month. For other activities, they usually come up to another 100-200 if you like having going out and having fun a lot. Sometimes the clubs at university do take some membership fees, which is pretty small about 2-10 dollars depends on the club. the transportation (bus and metro fees) is included in your main fee structure, and you can use ur Waterloo ID to go anywhere in Waterloo unlimited using public buses and metro. So I estimate my monthly expenses to be around 1650 including rent, food, and other activities. (All numbers are in CAD)
Scholarship
- Yes. I received a scholarship when I was in my first year. The name of it was University of Waterloo President's Scholarship of Distinction and you require a 95% average or above in high school to receive that scholarship.
- I received 2000 from it. Yes, some of my batch mates received that scholarship as well. I wouldn't exactly know how many students on average receive scholarships each year since that information isn't available to the public but there are very less scholarship opportunities for international students and they usually range from 2000-5000 CAD.
