As a parent, you want your student to be successful at Waterloo—but what does “success” mean?
Your and your student’s definitions of success may be similar when they begin their undergraduate degree. But that definition may change throughout their time in school.
Success can be difficult to describe, because it’s unique to each student.
Our definition of student success is when a student graduates:
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having achieved their self-identified goals,
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actively engaged both inside and outside the classroom,
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and ready to apply what they have learned.
Whatever their goals at Waterloo are, your student will build their success from three areas:
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friends and extracurricular activities,
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learning and academics,
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and health, wellness and well-being.
We believe that positive behaviours + positive environments = student success.
Five keys to success
There are five keys to a successful transition into university. We don’t expect students to achieve all five at once – that would be a lot to ask at the beginning of this new adventure!
Achieving each key and learning to balance all five takes time.
Think of these as milestones in your student’s journey through first year that they will continue to build on throughout their degree.
1. Create a network of friends
2. Balance schoolwork and leisure time
3. Ask for help when questions arise
4. Attend classes, labs, tutorials and office hours
5. Understand course requirements and faculty policies
A drop in grades is normal
As students are adjusting to the differences between high school and university, their grades may change from what they were used to in high school.
This is a normal part of the transition to university.
As students learn how to adapt to the university classroom and find the study strategies that work best for them, they will see their grades readjust.
Success is not the absence of obstacles, but how your student learns to approach and manage these inevitable challenges.
Student success is more likely to take place when students find meaning or purpose in their experience, such as when they perceive relevant connections between what they learn in class, their current life and their future goals.