Applying
For students applying to Waterloo Engineering.
Important Deadlines
Figuring out program information and requirements is already stressful enough, you definitely don’t want everything prepared to miss out on the deadline! That is why we decided to add this section along with a printable checklist near the end to keep you on top of your application process to Waterloo.
The General Overview
The Waterloo website is very clear with their Important Dates for undergraduates and, specifically, engineering programs. Though this changes every year, here is a rough debrief of the timeline based upon the information provided for the 2019-2020 application year on the website.
| Approximate Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 31st (late January) | OUAC (Ontario Universities Application Centre) application deadline. |
| February 4 | Canadian Computing Competition registration (recommended for Software Engineering). |
| February 28 | Deadline for AIF (Admissions Information Form), required documents and English Language results (if applicable). They must be completed AND submitted. |
| mid-march | Architectural Engineering Interview Invitations are released. |
| late-march | Admission offers start appearing on Quest. |
| March 18 | Euclid Mathematics Contest registration (recommended for Software Engineering). |
| March 21 | Waterloo March Break Open House. |
| April | Architectural Engineering Interviews are conducted. |
| Late-april | All architectural engineering offers are released. |
| April 15 | Ontario student bursary application deadline. |
| mid-may | Final round of offers are available on OUAC and official admission letters are presented through Quest. |
| June 1 | Final day to accept offers through OUAC |
| June 1 | Co-op stream requests sent to eng.stream@uwaterloo.ca |
| June 15 | OSAP/Other Financial Bursary Applications recommended deadline by Waterloo |
Monthly Breakdown
January
The first step in your application process is applying through OUAC (Ontario Universities Application Centre). This usually happens near the end of January. For the year 2019-2020, this was on January 31st. Applying through OUAC doesn’t take a large amount of time but it is still best to finish this part early incase of technical issues.
After going through OUAC, you will be provided with instructions to complete the AIF(Admissions Information Form) along with signing up for Quest. It is best to start preparing for the AIF part of your application right after this step to prevent last-minute write-ups and to ensure that you are confident with what you have written. Though optional, this is also the time when you will be doing the online video interview if you choose to do so. More tips in the AIF section of this website!
February
Recommended for Software Engineering is the Canadian Computing Competition as displayed in the Faculty of Engineering chart above. The registration deadline for this has previously been on February 4th.
By the final deadline, you must have your AIF, required documents, and English Language results (if applicable) completed AND submitted. This was on February 28 for 2019-2020.
March
Architectural Engineering Applicant Interview invitations are released around mid-march. Admission offers will also start becoming available on Quest by late-march. This is only the first-round of offers, so don’t fret if you are not accepted during this time.
March is also the time when Waterloo has their open-house. Seeing the university in person can help you with your decisions, so visiting if definitely recommended if possible.
Lastly, recommended for Software Engineering, the Euclid Mathematics Contest also has its registration deadline around this time.
April
Architectural Engineering applicants have their interviews conducted during April and have all offers available by late-April.
April is also the time when bursary applications for Ontario Students are due.
May
May oh May. Final rounds of admission offer results will be made available on OUAC and admission letters can be accessed through Quest mid-may. Check your emails too! A lot of updates about the admission process will be emailed to applicants.
This is also a good time to finalize your offer on OUAC as the deadline for accepting/ making any amendments will be June 1st, or sometime around the date. This usually applies to other Ontario universities as well. So talk to people, any seniors in the program you are applying, friends, join facebook and instagram groups for your program if you previously didn’t and make a decision that you feel is the most suitable for you!
June
Offer acceptance deadline, as previously stated, is around June 1st. Depending upon your program, you may also be able to request co-op stream by this time. These requests don’t guarantee anything, but are recommended to be completed as soon as possible to increase the possibility of you being placed in the co-op stream of your choice. If you do not send in a request, you will automatically be placed in any stream. The programs under this category include Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering.
Once accepted there is a lot of other information you will be exposed to slowly but steadily! Waterloo also recommends applying for OSAP (Ontario students) or any other financial assistance programs (other provinces) around June 15.
After
The months after will be filled with residence applications, course enrollments, fee payments, webinars, university preparation and orientation till September when classes start! It is a long road but planning ahead will give you a better hand on things.
Checklist
Linked below is the downloadable timeline + checklist that can be edited to your liking. This is a great way to keep on track of your deadlines and progress. You can do it!