Questions about University of Waterloo (Help greatly appreciated )

[Naheel_Jawaid]

Questions about University of Waterloo (Help greatly appreciated!)

Hey, so I'm new to the forums, I found it on google when searching up questions about Waterloo, only to find that the thread I was reading was 2 years old, and therefore i could not ask my own questions to the people who posted.

So, if there is anyone with experience at Waterloo, could you please answer any of the questions I have, and if possible my follow-up questions (if i have any).

Context: I am a grade 12 student from BC, attending Waterloo next year.


1. Could you explain your experiences of residences vs apartments.

2. What are the main differences between the different residences (Village, mackenzie, etc.) If you have personal experiences ot share, that would be nice too.

3. Could you explain the general demographics at the uni? How are the ppl in your specific program. (Considering you get random roommates for dorms)

4. DO you think it is advisable to get a dorm first year to try it out, then possibly get an apartment with someone you meet at the uni for the next couple of years if you don't like the residence.

5. Any other personal experiences you had with your program would be nice.


So thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my questions : D

 

[VeeEight]

A lot of people tend to go to res first year and then life off campus in their upper years with their friends.

Waterloo is a very math/comp sci/eng oriented school, so expect to get these 'types' of people there. I have not gone to Waterloo but know many people who have and they all say that it is a very competitive school, there are much more guys compared to girls there, and a lot of the students are very bright.

 

[Neither]

I'm currently an undergrad at Waterloo, hopefully I can answer your questions =)

1) Definitely live on residence during first year, this is usually the time where you meet most of your friends and form your inner circle. Although it might be a bit more expensive than living off campus, but the experience is definitely worth it.

2) Lived at V1, single room, the walls are paper thin, so you can hear everything that your neighbor is doing. Overall, I had a very enjoyable time there.

3) All the math programs are mostly dominated by Asians, and even more so for the program I'm attending which is computer science.

4) Definitely, that's what most students are doing.

5) They work you very hard, and co-op program is awesome.

 

[uwaterloo]

Hi Naheel! I am a co-op student working for Waterloo.

1) Residence is full of spirit. People enjoy gathering and having fun together with open doors. It is an experience nobody will forget.
Apartments, on the other hand, save you a lot of money every term. I moved out on my second year because I have co-op.

2) Most people live in Village 1 (because it is the biggest on-campus residence.) As a student, I have the following to share:

• University colleges offer the most welcoming experience at a different cost.
• UW Place and Mackenzie King Village are the two common residences that offer single rooms, private kitchens and bathrooms. Excellent choice if privacy is your thing.
• MKV is the only air-conditioned residence. All residences have heating.
• UWP is only 15 seconds away from the university's nearest plaza, separated by one road.
• Ron Eydt Village and V1 have no kitchens, and you need to get at least one meal plan.
• University colleges have their own lectures, so sometimes you even don't need to leave your building to go to classes.

I lived in UWP, and it was amazingly convenient. Uptown Waterloo was just 15 minutes away and I had a biking trail next to me :D

3. The faculty of Mathematics has more Asians than the rest of the campus. In all other faculties, ethnic ratios are fairly average.
My roommates aren't at all weird either.

4. Absolutely.

5. I am in Computational Science/Biochemistry with co-op.
Co-op is simply an explosion of opportunities for you to experience and learn. It's nice to get money too!

We are active on the facebook page called "University of Waterloo Future Students". Hope to see you soon!

 

[Naheel_Jawaid]

Thank you all very much for the input and I will make sure to check out the Facebook page.

@Neither: I am doing computer engineering but I considered both Computer Science and Software engineering when applying. Just out of curiosity, could you tell me a bit about the Computer Science program (ie. how it differs from the other 2 mentioned) and how the learning curve was in first year. (considering I have not taken programming at high school)

Also, do most of the people you live with have similar programs, or is it completely random (ie. can i be paired up with art students [which i would really like btw])

@uwaterloo: Thanks again. How much exactly do apartments save you, as in BC it is accepted that dorms are much more expensive than apartments (maybe because of UBC's proximity to Vancouver), but again if you could address the specifics of this issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

If you state that you are heavily against a meal plan, will they try and make space for you in the dorms with a kitchen, or does the lottery system they use not take that into account.

Again though, thanks for the responses, and I hope to hear back from when you have time. = D

 

[Neither]

I am not too familiar with the engineering program at my school, so I don’t want to give you any false information. In terms of learning curve, the first year calculus course is equivalent to AP Calculus + 25% new material. For the introductory programming courses, they quickly touch up on the basics, then jumps into more advanced concepts such as trees and recursion, and I’ve found that the my introductory cs course (CS135) covered more than what I’ve learned in both grade 11 and 12 computer science courses. It’d be very beneficial to review some basic programming concepts and data structures. I believe the programming language of choice for engineers is C#, if you’re considering on reviewing the material.