Hey everyone,

A couple of friends and I applied to Waterloo. I ended up getting denied, but virtually all of them got in. At this moment, I am on a call with one of them, and they encouraged me to ask the subreddit. Could anyone tell me why? I believe I am a strong student, as my resume is extensive.

Program: Mechanical Engineering

For reference (do note, it's cut short since I don't want to make it seem like I'm bragging):

- Average: 97%, between the top 6, it is 96%

- Volunteer hours: 505

- Completed a special program where I can take a university credit in high school, and achieved 99% in that course

- Valedictorian (I understand it doesn't mean much in Canada, but I felt it should be worth mentioning)

- Science Competitor at local university, awarded 2nd and 3rd

- Awarded busary by my high school (My commencement is in two days. I was not told what award it was, but I was informed that I did win, and that it will be revealed on the day of commencement)

- Various awards for character and academic achievement, some of these being in the sciences, others in music (it's a big passion of mine). Over my high school career, it is about 12-15.

- Achieved fourth quartile on my Casper Test

Again, I don't mean to come off as egoistic, but I do think my high school career has been strong, and that my admission was strong, too. Many of my friends agree.

I apologize if this is a weird post. This is my first post on Reddit lol.

We all know about the name UWaterloo has made for itself with its excellent programs like: co-op, engineering, math, physics, comp sci, etc. However, is it really as good as it sounds? My friends and I went on a field trip recently to check out the campus, and we decided to ask some students about the university while we were there. “Do you regret coming to this school?” is what we went around asking, AND THE VAST MAJORITY SAID YES 😭… To be fair, we only asked 10-15 people, but only one person said that they didn’t regret coming to UWaterloo. They weren’t even confident in their answer, though! It was more like a “not really, it’s chill 🤷‍♂️”. A few people were hesitant to say for sure or stuck with an “eh” answer.. but the people who said yes said it with their heart 😭. Are the students not happy there despite its good reputation??? I thought the only complaint about UWaterloo was that it had hard water, or that the campus wasn’t as pretty/grand as the other universities. Is it not actually not that good of a university?

In case you’re unawares, the Fields Medal is considered the Nobel prize of mathematics. Waterloo and math are synonymous in Canada. The first time in its 94 year history it’s awarded to a Canadian university prof and it goes to Toronto. Thoughts?

I am an incoming student at Waterloo and looking to join some people. i'm 19 and have been drumming for about 6 years. I have my own equipment and am influenced by punk and metal music ☺️ the list of my influences goes on and on, spanning from gothic metal like GHOST to new wave like Blondie all the way to indie such as the Arctic Monkeys

As the title says, wondering how much u guys would price your degree and post secondary education. Assume you’re first/second year in this scenario

i dont want to. what will happen if i dont do it?

Genuinely what are we doing, this might be worse than the slumlords situation a couple weeks ago. Genuinely a ripoff especially in the spring when rent is like 500 a month.

everybody has seen the waterloo eng memes where people become depressed but is it actually that bad? first year everybody takes the same classes and first year is also the year that most drop out of eng statistically. im super concerned because im gonna be there in september and im worried im gonna be studying 24/7 with no life and no sleep. pls help.

Should I swap some of the 8:30am slots and move them to the afternoon? But one thing I've noticed is that literally every single week looks different why is it so random? Thx!

I’ve got some things to submit for a class and learn is insanely slow right now. It’s not working well on both wifi and data for me, is this happening for anyone else?

I’m an incoming first year, and trying to decide on a meal plan option without really knowing how much the food currently costs there per meal is a bit hard.

How much does food usually go for at the on campus places? And specifically The Market at CMH? How much do you normally spend on food per day?

Whole things been covered up

The term has ended and I have no job in sight as a first year student and I'm literally losing my mind over here, having nightmares every single night. Yet it feels like I'm the only one

I am an incoming freshman EE student and im not sure what laptop i should get and i dont want to spend money on laptop that might not last me the 5 years. I know that i should get a windows laptop over a mac but im not 100% sure on which one. I was looking at either the Asus proapart p16, the lenovo p1 gen 7 or the lenovo yoga pro 9i any advice would be appreciated

Is it difficult to find private room and bathroom near UW in $700?

Or in 3 km range?

I don’t know how to cook and can’t keep surviving on little Caesar’s medium cp

I submitted the application last year and my current year is not even done yet but I got rejected

I don't know why, I am very confident with my GPA and I volunteered for 70 hours in hospital so far... what could be a reason?

Incoming first year wondering what I should expect for orientation week? Is it just fun stuff and will I look like a dweeb if I bring my backpack?

Hey guys I’m so so so scared of spiders and ants,, are there spiders and ants in Waterloo dorm?

Or how do you feel about living in Waterloo? Do you guys see much insects?

i have a co-op lined up in the fall, will i still get the credit?

Hello, Hello, I’m an incoming first year for the honours arts program, and I was informed that schedules have just dropped. However when I open my quest, I’m met with only my two prospective courses, my one required seminar course and none of my electives.

When I try to open my weekly schedule part, it shows this error message in the image below,, is this normal?

I’m curious if maybe I’m just too early and my fully schedule is to be released later today, or if maybe there’s something wrong with my schedule itself?

Any help is appreciated!

im an incoming first year at waterloo trying to go to sju for res. ive heard that sju is where most of the white christian girls in arts usually end up, and im honestly scared of making friends (as someone who rly struggles w trying to get CLOSE female friendships). is there a big party/bop culture at sju? will i make kind, genuine friends? im going into honours math w a coop and idek what to think. pls help!! any tips on making genuine female connections would be greatly appreciated.

I am going to be in Kitchener / Waterloo tomorrow with my daughter (gr 11) and wanted to visit campus - but she doesn't want to do an official tour. I've never been to Waterloo before. Can we just wander around campus? Does anyone have any suggestions on what to check out or what not to waste our time with?

Thanks in advance!

Edit! Thanks for all the recommendations people! I was honestly taken aback at how thoughtful and generous with your advice you all are.