Admissions frequently asked questions

We do not offer a general engineering program. At Waterloo, all engineering programs are direct entry with program-specific classes starting from day one.

When selecting a program please keep in mind that transferring between engineering programs as a Waterloo student is difficult and is often not possible. You will want to ensure you have taken the time to research each available program to select the one that best matches your interest and goals.  

You can only apply to one engineering program at Waterloo, excluding Architecture, on your OUAC application.

If you wish to be considered for a second engineering program at Waterloo, you can specify an alternate choice on your Admission Information Form (AIF) once you've applied. You will only be considered for this alternate program choice if you are not admitted to your first choice.

Software Engineering and Biomedical Engineering cannot be selected as an alternate choice on the AIF. These programs have historically been filled with applicants who have selected them as their first choice. Applicants interested in these programs will need to apply to them directly on their OUAC application.

The goal of the Engineering Admissions Committee is to admit students to their first-choice program where possible. Preference is given to applicants who have applied directly to a program compared to those who have selected it as their alternate program choice. Applicants are only reviewed for their alternate program choice if they have not been admitted to their first choice. Admissions to alternate program choices will only happen near the end of the admissions cycle in May.

As an Ontario high school student taking IB or AP courses your courses will be converted to the equivalent Ontario curriculum courses before they are sent to us. Your admission average will include your marks in: Advanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Chemistry (SCH4U), English (ENG4U), Physics (SPH4U), and one additional grade 12 U/M course. Being part of the IB or AP program will not impact your chances of receiving an offer of admission.

Admission decisions are made after reviewing all parts of an application. A decision is never made based on grades alone. For this reason, we do not have a cut-off.

Learn more about the average required to have a competitive application based on the engineering program that you are interested in.

Taking an online or night school course through your school or school board during the regular school year will not impact an admission decision. 

Taking one or two spares will not impact an admission decision or your chances of being admitted. 

We are looking for students that have strong time management skills demonstrated through their in-class and extra-curricular activities. If taking a spare, please use your AIF to highlight how you are spending your time outside of the classroom.

If you have repeated a required course for admission, a 5% repeat penalty may be deducted from your overall admissions average. If your first attempt of the course resulted in a grade that meets the minimum admission requirement (for example 70% for Ontario high school students) then we will use that mark without penalty. You will have the ability to explain your reasons for repeating a course when completing your AIF.

Please feel free to contact us at enginfo@uwaterloo.ca if you have questions about your specific situation.  

Students should avoid taking the required courses for admission in summer school if possible. We want to see how you perform in each of the required courses during the school year where you will be balancing other courses and activities outside of the classroom as we assess your ability to be successful in our demanding full-time programs.   

If a required course is taken in the summer, your admission average may be adjusted to reflect your previous performance in that subject.

Please feel free to email enginfo@uwaterloo.ca if you have questions about your specific situation.  

No, Engineering does not require applicants to write math or computing contests. Math and computing contest scores are not used as part of the applicant review process. You can discuss participation on your AIF to highlight your interests in this area which can be part of you showing how you are good fit for the program you have applied to. 

Applicants to Software Engineering are required to have experience developing well-structured, modular programs demonstrated by at least one of the following:

• Strong performance in a programming course, such as Grade 11 or 12 Computer and Information Science.
• Work experience related to programming.
• Personal projects.

You will tell us about your programing experience within a written question as part of the online video interview.

Waterloo Engineering does apply an adjustment factor based on historical performance from a given school (first-year university averages minus final high school averages) over the past 6+ years. This helps us select applicants with the highest likelihood of success. 

This adjustment is only a small part of the overall admissions decision. The weight of academic performance, the Admission Information Form, and the online interview will have more of an impact on an applicant’s probability of receiving an offer. 

If a required course was taken more than 2-3 years ago it may be too old to be used as part of your application. To ask if you need to retake any of the required courses to qualify for admission, please email the Admission Officer team at engineering.admission@uwaterloo.ca.   

If you have experienced exceptional circumstances or challenges that impacted your academic performance, please review our guidelines to request for special consideration to see if you may qualify for accommodations in the admissions process.

Please contact specialconsideration@uwaterloo.ca if you have any questions about the special consideration and accommodation process.  

The online video interview is another way for us to get to know you and what has motivated you to apply to the Waterloo Engineering program you have selected. It consists of a pre-recorded question that you will watch and then record your response. It is not a live interview.

In addition to the standard video question the following programs require an additional question:

• Software Engineering applicants will also have one written question where they will list and explain their experience with programing languages.  
• Applicants to Systems Design Engineering will answer a second video question that will be used when considering individuals for the Kish Hahn Memorial Award

All applicants will be invited to complete the online video interview. This is an optional part of an application except when applying to Software Engineering.

Software Engineering applicants will need to use a written component of the interview to explain their computer science/programing experience, which is a mandatory part of a Software Engineering application.

The online video interview is another way for Engineering Admissions to get to know you just like the AIF. Just be yourself and provide honest answers. We understand that you may be nervous and not have a polished response to the question and that is okay and to be expected. Our goal is to simply learn more about your reasons for applying to the program you have selected. Admission decisions are made after reviewing an applicant’s full application. A decision will not be made based on the interview alone.