Admission Information Form (AIF)

Some programs have application requirements in addition to your grades. These supplementary requirements might include the Admission Information Form (AIF), an online interview, and/or a portfolio.

Waterloo's Admission Information Form is an online form with a series of questions that explore your interests, experiences, and abilities. The AIF lets our admission committees learn more about you and is used to consider students for some scholarships.

On this page

Which programs use the AIF?

There are several programs which require the AIF for admission.

  • Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP)
  • Optometry
  • Pharmacy
  • Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)

Deadlines

Submissions will not be reviewed after the deadline. We recommend you complete the AIF as soon as possible once you've applied.

Program Deadline
Programs other than those listed below February 14, 2025
Engineering programs January 31, 2025
Optometry November 28, 2024
Pharmacy January 22, 2025 by 2 p.m. ET
Bachelor of Social Work January 6, 2025

Be sure to review the details for your program/faculty.

Faculty/program-specific details

Not sure which faculty offers your program(s)? View a list of programs by faculty.

Faculties of Arts, Environment, Health, and Science

The Admission Information Form is not required for admission.

Engineering programs

The AIF is required for admission for all Engineering programs other than Architecture.

Waterloo Engineering is a world-class, globally competitive engineering program with a large number of applicants for a limited number of spots.

The AIF, which is required for admission, helps us distinguish among many applicants with similar (excellent) grades and enables us to select students who have the necessary skills and experience to succeed.

If you apply to Waterloo Engineering and don't submit your form, you will not get an offer of admission, even if you have a 99% high school average and meet all other requirements.

Your friends or relatives may claim that they received an offer in past years without the AIF; this may have been true, but that is no longer the case.

Engineering admissions blog

If you're applying to Waterloo Engineering and haven't seen this blog, you're missing out. The Road to Engineering has great insights about Engineering admissions, including the Admission Information Form.

Highlights and tips

All Engineering students are in co-op, so you apply for jobs starting in your first year. If you haven't had a job before, how can you demonstrate your employability?

  • So-called "soft skills" like communication and collaboration count – not only for the co-op jobs, but also for the many projects and labs you'll be in with your fellow students.
  • Responsibility and commitment over time are factors. In many cases, an activity that you carried on for a longer period would be looked at differently from something that was just a couple of weeks long. Think about the quality of your involvement versus the quantity.

Architecture program

The Admission Information Form is not required for admission to the Architecture program. 

Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, Computing and Financial Management

The AIF is required for admission.

The Admission Information Form is required for admission because of the high volume of applications that we receive and because we are looking for well-rounded students who have had meaningful experiences outside of the classroom. A student who can do well in school while also engaging in other activities is more likely to be successful at university.

The Faculty of Mathematics looks mainly at three categories of information.

1. Courses

If you repeat a required course or take a course outside of your regular day school, you may jeopardize your chances of being admitted to the Faculty of Mathematics. You should take all your courses in regular day school and do well in your first attempt.

Did you take more than the minimum number of courses required for admission? There's no penalty for only taking the minimum number of courses but the ability to do more may improve your chances of admission.

2. Non-academic activities

We're keen to learn about your activities outside of the classroom, as we place a high value on well-rounded students. What we're looking for is excellence outside of the classroom that complements excellence within.

3. Math contests

Contest participation is not required for admission, but strong performance on math contests can help earn you a place in the Faculty of Mathematics and writing the Euclid Contest and/or the Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest is an important factor in awarding most of our Math scholarships.

The Canadian Computing Competition is most relevant for Computer Science applicants, but if you wrote it, don't hesitate to include your score even when applying to other programs.

The process

Scorers who read the AIFs are trained to evaluate submissions. You can never hurt your chances with the AIF.

Highlights and tips

  • Show us how you are involved in activities outside of the classroom and in the world around you.
  • Demonstrate the ability to manage multiple activities and priorities while performing at a high level.
  • Even if you haven't already been writing the mathematics contests, strongly consider writing the Euclid Contest and/or the Canadian Senior Mathematics Contest.

Accounting and Financial Management, Sustainability and Financial Management

Pharmacy – If you've applied to the PharmD program

The AIF is required for admission.

The Admissions Information Form is required for this competitive program with a large number of applicants. The AIF helps you distinguish yourself among many applicants with similar (excellent) grades and enables us to select students who have the necessary skills, attributes, and experience to succeed.

In addition to questions about courses, extracurricular activities, and achievements, we'll ask you to provide a reference, any pharmacy-related experience you have, and a personal statement about why you want to become a pharmacist.

We ask for one reference to help understand who you are and why you might make a good pharmacist. We will contact your referee once you provide their information. For further information and details, visit the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) "after you apply" web page.

Pharmacy – If you've applied to Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP)

Optometry

The AIF is required for admission.

The Admission Information Form is required for this competitive program with a large number of applicants. Your responses help distinguish yourself among many applicants with similar (excellent) grades and enables us to select students who have the necessary skills, attributes, and experience to succeed.

In addition to questions about courses, extracurricular activities, and achievements, we'll ask you to provide two references and highlight any optometry-related experience you have.

We ask for two references (confidential assessment forms) to help understand who you are and why you might make a good optometrist. We'll contact your referees once you provide their information. For further information and details, review the Optometry Vision Science non-academic requirements.

How do you submit your AIF?

  1. Create an account in Quest, our online student information system.
  2. Once you have a Quest account, complete your AIF before the documents deadline.
    1. We recommend preparing your answers before submitting them so that you can check for spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
    2. The AIF is not accessible on mobile devices.
  3. Be sure to click <submit> on each page when completing your form in Quest otherwise it will be incomplete.

Common questions about the AIF

Have some questions? We're here to help.

Common questions about the AIF →

AIF Questions

While there may be program-specific questions on the AIF, common questions will include:

Question 1: Tell us about a passion or strong interest of yours. How [and when] did you become involved in this interest [and for how long have you been involved]? What have you learned about yourself from this interest? How will you apply this knowledge as a student at the University of Waterloo? (900-character limit)

Question 2: Briefly describe a group, organization, or community that you have been involved in, are a member of, and/or have contributed to. What contributions have you made as a member of this group? Were you able to lead, influence others and/or influence decisions for the good of the group and its goals? How has your involvement helped make this community better? (900-character limit)

Question 3: Describe a situation where you were treated unfairly or witnessed someone else being treated unfairly. What did you do at the time and why? Would you do anything differently if the same situation occurred today? Has this event impacted or changed who you are now and if so, how? (900- character limit)

Question 4: What is your primary goal for attending the University of Waterloo? Have you explored, been exposed to, or have experience in the field you plan to pursue and if so, how? Did you turn to anyone for advice in exploring alternative options or backup plans for your goal and if so, how did this person help you? (900-character limit)

Question 5 - Outside the classroom: Please share what you were involved in outside of your studies – in school, the community, or the home. 

Question 6 - Special achievements, distinctions, and awards: If you have received any academic or non- academic awards or distinctions, please list them below. Please provide the size of competition if you know how many people participated.