Common questions about the AIF

General questions

Do I have to submit an Admission Information Form?

It's an important part of your admission decision.

The AIF is required for admission for

  • programs in the faculties of Engineering and Mathematics
  • Conditional Admissions to Pharmacy (CAP)
  • Pharmacy
  • Optometry, and
  • Social Work programs.

Can I have someone else complete my AIF?

No. You must complete and submit the AIF on your own.

You are responsible for ensuring that all of your application information is truthful, complete, and correct. Your application may be rejected or an offer of admission could be revoked if we have reasonable grounds to believe your AIF was written by someone other than you.

I've applied to more than one program at Waterloo. How many AIFs do I complete?

You'll need to submit only one AIF but you'll need to submit ALL sections for the programs that you have applied to.

I've changed which programs I've applied to. Do I need to change my AIF?

If you have changed your application or added a program, you may need to complete additional sections.

The About You – Part A section of the AIF – is the same for all programs that require the AIF.

I've submitted my AIF, but I have additional information to provide. What do I do?

Once you submit your Admission Information Form, you can't edit your responses. We encourage you to take a bit of extra time to ensure your responses are accurate and error-free before submitting the AIF.

Completing your Admission Information Form

How do I complete the AIF? What is the deadline?

The Admission Information Form is available through your Quest account. You'll receive instructions once you apply.

Deadline dates vary by program.

How much space do I have to answer questions? What if I need more space?

Some questions have a character limit. It's important for the reviewers that you provide clear and concise responses, so you must provide your responses in the space allowed. The character limit includes spaces, punctuation, and special characters.

We recommend that you type your response to questions in Microsoft Word, etc. so that you can use spell check and count the number of characters you have used.

If you receive this message: "Your text answer is too long. Please go back and edit it to fit the number of characters allowed for the question," then you must shorten your response.

How many examples should I include for the "Outside of the Classroom" section?

List any activities or areas of significant interest and a time estimate spent on the activity. These activities could be at school, in the community, or at home. If the activity has not ended, leave the End Date blank.

How do I check my spelling or grammar?

You will not be able to check spelling or grammar while you're completing the online AIF. Before you submit your AIF, we recommend that you write your responses in Word or other software so that you can check your spelling and grammar. Then you can copy and paste your responses into the online AIF from your Word document.

What do the "+" and "-" signs mean at the end of some of the questions?

You can provide additional information by selecting the "+" sign to add another row, or you can delete information by selecting the "-." You should add rows only to the end of the chart, not in the middle.

References

The following information applies only to the Conditional Admission to Pharmacy, Optometry, Pharmacy, and Social Work programs.

I submitted an incorrect email address or my referee has changed their email address.

Send an e-mail to myapplication@uwaterloo.ca with the following information.

  • Subject Line: Change of Referee Email address
  • Waterloo ID number (provided in your acknowledgement email)
  • Program
  • Referee Name
  • Old referee email address
  • New referee email address

How do I change a referee?

Send an e-mail to myapplication@uwaterloo.ca with the following information.

  • Subject Line: Change of Referee
  • Waterloo ID number (provided in your acknowledgement email)
  • Program
  • Old Referee Name
  • New Referee Name and Title
  • School or Employer
  • Referee telephone and email address

Note: Changing your referee can take up to 2 weeks.

When will my referees receive their notification email?

It will take up to 3 business days after you have provided your referee contact information (through your Admission Information Form) for us to send them instructions on submitting a reference for you.

Only if you're applying to Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP), Pharmacy, Optometry, and Bachelor of Social Work (post-BA program) will you need to provide references.

My referee hasn't received the email about completing my reference form.

The referee should check their spam or junk mail folder to see if the reference form email is there.

If they still have not received an email, please ask the referee to send an email to myapplication@uwaterloo.ca and include your Waterloo ID number. Additionally, please verify on your AIF that you have provided the correct email address for your referees.

My referee accidentally deleted the reference request email. Can you resend it?

You will need to send an email to myapplication@uwaterloo.ca with the following information.

  • Subject: Re-send Referee Email
  • Your Waterloo ID number (provided in your acknowledgement email)
  • The program you applied to
  • Referee name
  • Referee email address

Note: Due to the high volume of emails we receive, requesting an email be sent to your referee can take up to 2 weeks.