Admissions 2016: How it’s going to work

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We are getting ready for our first major Open House event on November 7, and that reminds me that I should do an update on this popular post, with some revisions and clarification for the upcoming September 2016 admissions cycle.  No major changes from last year.

Here is an overview on how the process works and the approximate timelines.  As usual, this is specific to Waterloo Engineering admissions; other programs and universities will have their own unique variations.  Also, make sure you look through our admissions webpages for exact deadlines and official requirements since this is just an unofficial, quick overview and I can’t cover every detail for every variety of applicant and situation. Continue reading →

Visit to Qatar

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Here’s an update from our Associate Director of Engineering Admissions, Ally Morrow, who is currently meeting with prospective applicants and parents in the Gulf region, as mentioned in a previous post.

We have final arrangements for the Study in Canada fair in Qatar.  It will be on Sunday October 25th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm at the Mercure Grand Hotel, Musherib Street, Doha.  If you’re in the area we hope to see you there.

Chances for 2016

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As frequently requested, here is an updated version of a popular post.

The 2016 Admissions brochures for Engineering and other programs have recently been uploaded.  We have continued to include a table showing admission probabilities (“chances”) for different programs and grade ranges.  It seems that many people find it useful for getting a realistic impression of their chances at admission, so that they can plan accordingly.   The online version of this table can be found here.  This is based on the 2015 results and as usual we caution that 2016 may be different, since it all depends on the competition level (which is unknown in advance).  In 2015 the level of competition continued to increase, but maybe it will go down in 2016, since we know that’s the general direction of the demographics in Ontario. Continue reading →

Visiting Persian Gulf Countries

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Here is a guest post by our Associate Director of Engineering Admissions, who spends a few weeks each year travelling to select countries to inform students, parents and teachers about Waterloo Engineering.  In October 2015 she is in the Persian Gulf area (also known as the Arabian Gulf).  If you are in one of these countries, feel free to attend an event and say hello.

Hello everyone!

My name is Ally Morrow and I am the Associate Director for Admissions for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. I am lucky enough to work alongside Professor Bill Anderson for the Faculty of Engineering to implement policies and help make decisions on admissions. I also manage international undergraduate recruitment activities for Engineering, travelling around the globe to promote the University of Waterloo and Canadian education. Next week I will be traveling to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. I will be participating in Education Fairs in the following cities: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City. It would be wonderful for those of you who are in the area to come by and say “hello”. I would be more than happy to provide you with information about our engineering programs as well as studying in Canada. This will be my second time visiting the area, I am looking forward to another great experience and to meeting you!

I have listed the Education fair dates and locations below:

Abu Dhabi FairAlly Morrow
Monday October 19th  5:00pm-9:00pm
Le Royal Meridien Hotel Abu Dhabi

Dubai Fair
Wednesday October 21st   5:00pm-9:00pm
Crowne Plaza Hotel Dubai

Kuwait City Fair
Tuesday October 27th  5:00pm-9:00pm
Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel Kuwait

See you soon!
Ally

 

Where Do Waterloo Co-op Students Work?

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It’s a common question from prospective students and parents, “where are the co-op jobs located?  Are they mainly around the Waterloo area?”  The answer is definitely “no”, they are not just around Waterloo.  But with over 4,000 employers that hire at Waterloo it’s actually a bit hard to start listing off some companies and places.  Many of them are smaller or specialized companies that the general public rarely hears about.  However, there is one interesting resource that starts to give some insight. Continue reading →

When students have choices among top colleges, which one do they choose? – The Washington Post

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(ProfBillAnderson:  Yet another ranking, but one I haven’t noticed before.  This one puts Waterloo in the top ten of student preferences when choosing between offers.  An interesting article and worth a look.)

Stanford University tops another new college ranking list. But the rest of the Parchment Top 25 might surprise you.

Source: When students have choices among top colleges, which one do they choose? – The Washington Post

Understanding University Rankings

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The fall is University Rankings season, as a bunch get released each year.  Alex Usher has a nice blog post that summarizes the major ones and what they include.  I’ve written posts about rankings in the past, which you can find using the search function if you wish.  In general, for high school student applicants I usually suggest that they be very careful about putting too much weight on these rankings, for various reasons discussed before and illustrated below. Continue reading →

Leapfrogging ahead of competition with engineering research partnership – Waterloo Engineering

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I’ve always intended to write about some research work, but never find the time.  However, here is a link to a write-up by one of our staff writers.  And a picture of me with a couple of my graduate level (i.e. Masters) researchers.

Waterloo Engineering’s chemical engineering research gives manufacturer a global advantage.

Source: Leapfrogging ahead of competition with engineering research partnership – Waterloo Engineering

Back to School

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It’s the academic new year, and our new and returning students are starting classes this week.  I won’t be returning to class, since I’ve already been teaching courses for the past 12 months straight and am now going into a “non-teaching term”.  Time to catch up on paperwork, side projects, research funding applications and various other things.

For Engineering admissions, we are starting to gear up for the 2016 cycle and getting things ready.  We have the first major event of the recruiting cycle, the Ontario Universities’ Fair coming up on September 25-27.  I wrote a post last year about doing some preparation before attending that event, to make the best use of your time.

Soon I’ll update some information for future posts on what’s going on for Waterloo Engineering admissions.