Applying to AFM or SFM

Watch Kyrie's, a current Grade 12 high school student, videos offering some helpful tips to prepare for university and to navigate your last year of high school.

Kyrie is also a student blogger.  She writes about all the challenges a student faces with decision making and planning her pathway through university processes.  You can read her blog here.

To be considered for the admission to the AFM and/or SFM program, you must minimally meet the following requirements:

• Studying in Ontario? 6 Grade 12 U and/or M courses including:
  • Admission average: Individual selection from the mid-80s
  • Any 12 U English (minimum final grade of 75% is required)
  • Advanced Functions (minimum final grade of 75% is required)
  • Calculus and Vectors (minimum final grade of 75% is required)
  • Recommended courses: Principles of Financial Accounting, Mathematics of Data Management
• Not studying in Ontario? Search our admission requirements database.
• Completion of the SAF Admissions Assessment (SAFAA)

Applicants will be asked to provide an explanation(s) pertaining to any repeated courses, courses taken outside of your normal day school, and/or extenuating circumstances that may have affected your academic performance.

Courses outside of your regular day school

We do not penalize students for taking courses outside of regular day school, so long as they are not repeated attempts. However, we discourage this practice.

Admission is competitive, and our goal is to admit students who have the right preparation to be successful in a rigorous full-time professional program, not simply those with the best grades. Taking all courses through your regular day school provides the best preparation for success in university studies.

Repeated courses

Due to a high level of competition, we strive to make our admission process as fair and unbiased as possible. Repeating courses in order to improve your average provides an unfair advantage, as compared to students who achieve high marks in their first attempts.

For this reason, repeating courses may result in a reduction of your overall admission score, which may also impact your eligibility for scholarships.

During your SAFAA Online Interview (part 1), you will be required to provide an explanation for any repeated Grade 12 subjects. Exceptional or extenuating circumstances will be reviewed for an exemption from the penalty.

Extenuating circumstances

We understand if there have been extenuating circumstances that are out of your control that may have affected your marks. Provide us with an explanation of the situation/circumstance that had affected your most recent academic year. Note that if you don’t tell us, we can’t take it into consideration during your application review.

Early offers of admission:

All students will be considered for early offers of admission and May offers of admission by submitting an application through OUAC by February 1, 2023 and completing the SAFAA Online Interview (part 1) and Trait Assessment (part 2), by February 17, 2023. 

Early offers of admission will be communicated by mid-March 2023

If you do not receive an offer of admission by March 2023, don't panic! It simply means that the SAF requires additional marks before we can confidently make an admission decision for you.

We will hold onto your application file and you will be considered for May offers of admission.

May offers of admission:

May offers of admission will be communicated by mid-May 2023

All students will be considered for early offers of admission and May offers of admission by submitting an application through OUAC by February 1, 2023 and completing the SAFAA Online Interview (part 1) and Trait Assessment (prat 2), by February 17, 2023.

Admission decisions

Apply to Waterloo

Once you have applied to the AFM program through the Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC), you'll receive 2 emails:

1. An Acknowledgement email from Waterloo's Registrar's Office. This email will provide you with:
   1. your 8-digit Waterloo ID number
   2. instruction and link for you to create your Waterloo user ID and password
   3. instruction and link on how to submit your transcripts and English Language documentation if you are a student currently studying outside of Ontario
   4. instructions and link on how to book a campus visit
2. A Next Steps email from the School of Accounting and Finance. This email will provide you with:
   1. instructions and details of the format of the SAFAA
      1. a checklist of steps to complete your admissions requirements
      2. deadlines for submission of your application components

Find out when your application and documents are due to Waterloo. For more information about university programs check out OUInfo.

Find out what your specific admission requirements are based on the study system and the country you're from.

The AFM program is not open to students who already possess an undergraduate degree, regardless of subject or discipline of major. 

If you have completed an undergraduate degree, consider other graduate programs available through the School of Accounting and Finance:

• Master of Quantitative Finance
• Master of Taxation
• PhD in Accounting

International students and co-op work terms:

The AFM and SFM degrees require the completion of four co-op work terms. If you are a student studying on a VISA, please note that some employers may impose hiring requirements. These may include: 

• a provincial driver’s license
• prior Canadian work experience
• Canadian citizenship
• or a strong desire to remain in Canada to work. 

While there are many relevant co-op paid job opportunities available for students to apply to and many resources available to assist students with their job search strategies, employers ultimately make all co-op hiring decisions and we cannot guarantee placement.

Review the Co-op Education web site, if it is your intention to return to your home country for a work term.