Using school resources to prepare for university

Starting university off on the right foot, with help from upper-year students and exposure to tips and resources

Hello! I’m Rida, a first-year student in the Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) program. In the summer leading up to my first year, I was quite daunted at the idea of being a university student, like many of you may be. With a new school, a new city, and new people, it’s hard to know what to expect. That is until I was introduced to Waterloo Ready, a program for incoming first-year School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) students to connect with upper-year mentors.

Throughout the summer, we met in weekly meetings where we got to discuss first year courses, extracurriculars, co-op, and so much more. I was able to get to know some of the people in my program, and ask my mentors any questions I had about AFM. A couple of great tips I received were to join clubs that genuinely pique your interest, and to avoid burnout by balancing academics with hobbies that you enjoy.

All the wonderful advice and resources I received from my mentors really helped ease my university transition, and I felt much more confident going into my first year at the University of Waterloo.