General questions
What is the Admission Information Form (AIF)?
The Admissions Information Form (AIF) is part of the supplementary application requirements for applicants to Engineering, Mathematics, and Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP) as well as some professional degree programs (Social Work, Optometry, and Pharmacy).
For these applicants, our admissions committee considers more than just academics; with the AIF, all aspects of your application are carefully reviewed against our selection criteria, which include academics, experiences, skills, and abilities. The AIF is also used for scholarship consideration in Engineering and Mathematics.
Engineering and Mathematics students can check out this Missing Manual article on how to make the most of your AIF.
Do I have to submit an Admission Information Form?
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.
Should I complete the AIF if I'm applying to the faculties of Arts, Environment, Health, or Science?
No, we don’t recommend you complete the AIF because it is not used to review applications or award scholarships in these faculties. The only exception would be for high school students applying to the Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP) program in the Faculty of Science. As part of the supplementary application requirements, you are required to fill out an AIF for Pharmacy.
How will students in Arts, Environment, Health, or Science be assessed for scholarships?
The majority of entrance scholarships are based on grade average and are awarded in mid-May. An application is not required.
Some scholarships require an application and students from all programs are encouraged to explore review those. The Waterloo Entrance Bursary is open to Ontario residents with financial need and an application is also required.
For scholarships which require an application, students applying to the faculties of Arts, Environment, Health, and Science will not be asked to complete an AIF.
Why do some applicants have these supplementary application requirements?
In highly competitive programs, such as Waterloo’s Engineering and Mathematics programs, supplementary application requirements allow us to be more selective beyond just grades. We have enhanced our AIF this year, leveraging holistic admissions research and expertise that include measures to help mitigate against bias and support inclusion.
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.
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.
Can I edit my AIF answers?
Once you submit your Admission Information Form, you will not be able to make any changes to Part A.
We encourage you to take a bit of extra time to ensure your responses are accurate and error-free before submitting the AIF.
Can I use AI to write my AIF responses?
The AIF asks you questions that explore your personal interests, experiences, and abilities. These are questions about you and no one (including ChatGPT!) knows you better than you do.
You're responsible for the answers you provide. If you use AI to create answers that are untrue, incorrect, or plagiarized, we reserve the right to deny admission or withdraw your Offer of Admission.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When I save or submit my AIF, why does my punctuation in my answers change to an upside-down question mark (¿)? Will this impact my application?
You don't need to be concerned. We're aware that sometimes characters change to upside-down question marks when you submit your AIF. This will not have any effect on your AIF or your application.
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 references@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 references@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 references@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 references@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.