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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
Just wondering... who here is in CS at waterloo? I applied for it but I've heard it's hard to get into but I also have a a nice average (97.3%). I'm pretty optimistic but my comp eng teacher wasn't 100% sure I'd get in. So what was your average if you got in? I also applied to software engineering and computational mathematics. What do you think of these programs?  | ||
Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
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minus_human
4784 Posts
On February 06 2010 03:09 Chill wrote: Are you asian? lol | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
On February 06 2010 03:14 Chill wrote: Okay, this time it's justified. Waterloo is like 99.9% asian. I seriously suggest if you enjoy a "typical" university experience you do not go to waterloo. The academic sacrifice is easier made up by the social gains. Well, I've already made up my mind that I'm going to Waterloo (only place I applied to) and believe it or not I am NOT asian. My parents are Polish but I was born in Canada. | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
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Mastermind
Canada7096 Posts
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CTStalker
Canada9720 Posts
my cousin's a terrible student, so his highschool average wasn't very good, i imagine. however he's a born programmer, taught himself assembly, programs all the time as a hobby. i think that counts for a lot | ||
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PluS
United States80 Posts
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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
On February 06 2010 03:20 Chill wrote: Can I ask why you made up your mind? Main reasons were that when I took programming in gr.11 it was probably my favourite course I've ever taken. I also know that Waterloo has a strong reputation in CS and I just love math (as nerdy as that sounds). EDIT: Oh and also I live pretty close so I won't have to spend money on a place to live. | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
I think your decision process is fine (going to the best school possible in Canada for CS) but I think it's incredibly stupid to apply to only one school. If you comment on your goals after university I could try to disuade you from going to Waterloo, but I suppose there's no point in that discussion since your mind is made up. Edit: Don't live at home while you go to school. Living with other people is a huge part of social growth through university. Academics and social growth are essentially equally important from university in my eyes, which is why I am sad that so many people get tunnel vision on the academics to the point of ignoring advice from people who have already been through this before! | ||
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haster27
Taiwan809 Posts
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zeks
Canada1068 Posts
if you have read the OUAC booklet or checked the waterloo site you'd know its low 80 admissions. | ||
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Mastermind
Canada7096 Posts
On February 06 2010 03:41 Chill wrote: What are your plans after university? Can't comment on the math / CS / comp. eng. choice without some look into what you plan on doing. I think your decision process is fine (going to the best school possible in Canada for CS) but I think it's incredibly stupid to apply to only one school. If you comment on your goals after university I could try to disuade you from going to Waterloo, but I suppose there's no point in that discussion since your mind is made up. Edit: Don't live at home while you go to school. Living with other people is a huge part of social growth through university. Academics and social growth are essentially equally important from university in my eyes, which is why I am sad that so many people get tunnel vision on the academics to the point of ignoring advice from people who have already been through this before! It doesnt matter what university he goes to, if he is in CS he wont have a social life anyways after second year. That is the sacrifice you make when you go into that program. My last semester I had to pull about 10 all nighters and my average amount of sleep was about 5 hours a night. I went out once a month. CS students spend their lives programming. No matter how much time you have spent, there is always another bug to fix. | ||
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Bosu
United States3247 Posts
On February 06 2010 03:41 Chill wrote: Edit: Don't live at home while you go to school. Living with other people is a huge part of social growth through university. Academics and social growth are essentially equally important from university in my eyes, which is why I am sad that so many people get tunnel vision on the academics to the point of ignoring advice from people who have already been through this before! I lived at home throughout university and I would definitely say it is harder to make a lot of friends if you don't live in the dorms for at least your first year. Sure I made some new friends, but the only friends I hang out with for the most part are the same ones as in high school. However, I also know I could have put more effort into being more social than I was and join some groups or something. Of course it is nice that I have had a job throughout college and no debts unlike some of my classmates who easily owe $30,000 + for tuition, books, and dorm over the last few years. As well as other debt. | ||
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CTStalker
Canada9720 Posts
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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
On February 06 2010 03:41 Chill wrote: What are your plans after university? Can't comment on the math / CS / comp. eng. choice without some look into what you plan on doing. I think your decision process is fine (going to the best school possible in Canada for CS) but I think it's incredibly stupid to apply to only one school. If you comment on your goals after university I could try to disuade you from going to Waterloo, but I suppose there's no point in that discussion since your mind is made up. Edit: Don't live at home while you go to school. Living with other people is a huge part of social growth through university. Academics and social growth are essentially equally important from university in my eyes, which is why I am sad that so many people get tunnel vision on the academics to the point of ignoring advice from people who have already been through this before! Well, I don't really have much of a plan for after university. Basically get a job I like (and a wife hopefully). And my family isn't that well off financially (my parents are separated) so I want to live at home to save money. I also applied for co-op so I just want to graduate with the smallest amount of debt possible. | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
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Straylight
Canada706 Posts
Just keep in mind that you might want to do CS right now, but 1-2 years in you might experience a bit of a change, and that's not a bad thing. Hopefully the program has room for you to take some electives or do a minor so you can see what else is around. And join a fuckton of student groups with stuff you're interested in and go to events and by 2nd year hopefully be a part of running those clubs. | ||
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lone_hydra
Canada1460 Posts
And also WTF YES! WITH 97.3% YOU CAN GET INTO ANY PROGRAM AT WATERLOO! With a 97.3% you should be smart enough to figure that out yourself and figure out your CS teacher was joshing you. Worried about money? Apply for a shit ton of scholarships. With your mark, you should get a shit ton of free money. Just apply. | ||
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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
On February 06 2010 04:33 Chill wrote: ok this thread is dumb. how are we supposed to answer any of your questions? ugh What do you mean "how are we supposed to answer any of your questions?". All I wanted to know was from people who are in CS or know ppl who are in CS at waterloo what their averages were. And also what people think of computational mathematics and and software engineering. Wasn't that obvious? I was the one answering all your questions and then you call this thread dumb. | ||
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The6357
United States1268 Posts
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
On February 06 2010 04:50 Echo515 wrote: What do you mean "how are we supposed to answer any of your questions?". All I wanted to know was from people who are in CS or know ppl who are in CS at waterloo what their averages were. And also what people think of computational mathematics and and software engineering. Wasn't that obvious? I was the one answering all your questions and then you call this thread dumb. "Should I go into Music or Theatre? By the way I don't know what I want to do except I want a job and a wife." How should I tell you which is better for you if you don't tell me anythnig about yourself except that you like math and you want a wife. Go into plumbling. You will probably make more money than with a mathematics degree. | ||
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Straylight
Canada706 Posts
On February 06 2010 04:50 Echo515 wrote: What do you mean "how are we supposed to answer any of your questions?". All I wanted to know was from people who are in CS or know ppl who are in CS at waterloo what their averages were. And also what people think of computational mathematics and and software engineering. Wasn't that obvious? I was the one answering all your questions and then you call this thread dumb. Kid with 97 average can't figure out he's for sure getting in? I'm pretty sure you're only interested in people's averages so you can say "ok, mine is higher" so you can sleep easier at night dude >.> | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
UofT has some of the best computer scientists in the world, including Stephen Cook. On a different note, since you have a 97% average, you can consider accelerating yourself through your undergraduate degree. Take higher course loads, and take some graduate courses (idealy starting in your third year) and if possible try to do some research and reading courses. Then from either Waterloo or UofT you can go to the best graduate school for computer science in the US for a PhD degree. | ||
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Oracle
Canada411 Posts
I go to waterloo and im not asian I'm in bioinformatics (honours co-op) http://ugradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/?pageID=10154 Basically, bioinformatics is CS + math + biochem which is in the faculty of mathematics, and i'm going to get a bachelors of computer science. My average was low 90's from high school, and I'm in 1B right now. My roommate is in pure CS, so i can answer some questions. here is the undergrad calendar for CS: http://ugradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/?pageID=655 being part of the faculty of mathematics, you'll have to take all the core math courses, such as Math 135, 136, 137, 138, 237 (algebra and calculus) Math 239 (combinatorics) And a bunch of CS courses + electives. I think the hardest thing is adapting to the type of math they teach u in university. It's wayy more theoretical than high school. I found it very difficult and challenging at first, but now I love this style. But a lot of people hate i and as a result do poorly. High school is a POOR GAUGE of university success. Trust me. And then you have to apply the knowledge you learn in algebra and calculus, since a lot of the problems rely on you to know how to express things differently. For example, one problem may ask you to write code that takes an integer and outputs the very first digit of the interger. ex. input 5002 -> output 5. For this you need to know the quotient (not division) function. Now thats a very trivial example, but it get's harder and it'll get to the point where you need a strong understanding on some of the mathematical concepts taught in Math lectures such as modular arithmetic, integration, and combinatorics. It's actually really annoying since you don't get to code anything "fun" for a long time; it's essentially solving a bunch of math problems. I still have my CS 135 assignments. In 1A/1B If you take CS 135/136 you'll be doing Scheme and then a little bit of C. Scheme has little to no practical application, and the most frustrating thing is when you're on your first co-op term you realize you can't apply for a lot of the jobs in jobmine because you don't meet their qualifications (ie. Proficient with SQL, Java, Perl, C++) Therefore I suggest you choose the sequence which goes 1A 1B 2A (co-op) By the way, Math 135 is a great intro to university course. It's COMPLETELY different from high school. Try hard and don't slack. I hated it for the first 3/4 of the term, but then grew to love it since you learn to think of things differently. But it was really hard to wrap my head around at first. I can provide a breakdown of the first year courses you'll need to take if you want, since I had to take them for my program too (as well as pretty much ALL of the CS requirements) If you want any specifics just ask | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
MAT135: A study of the basic algebraic systems of mathematics: the integers, the integers modulo n, the rational numbers, the real numbers, the complex numbers and polynomials. I don't see how this is supposed to be hard at all. | ||
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Oracle
Canada411 Posts
suppose 0 <= c <= 30 find and prove all possible integers x,y such that 52x + 72y = C Find the remainder of 5^500^500 when divided by 13 find the GCD(5^200,100^5) Find the value of x,y such that C has only ONE positive integer solution 104x + 65y = C let a,b,n be positive integers, if the GCD(a,b) = 1, and a|n and b|n, then prove that ab|n. And those are midterm questions, the assignment questions were 100x harder. there's a lot of theorem memorizing and applying, a lot of work with gcds which you really haven't thought of before. what im trying to say is that it's a lot different from high school where the hardest thing is finding the intersection of two planes, or the roots of some polynomial Even the notation for some of the proofs they did in class was different. | ||
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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo. | ||
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Achromic
773 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:01 Echo515 wrote: Thanks Koltz for the useful information and for not being a dick like some other people. I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo. I know they seem like a dick but they are right. You need to have the basic idea of what job you want and your degrees aid you in getting it. Not the other way around. :/ | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:01 Echo515 wrote: Thanks Koltz for the useful information and for not being a dick like some other people. I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo. I was genuinely trying to help you. | ||
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stalife
Canada1222 Posts
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Oracle
Canada411 Posts
And that comes with efficiency and optimization. such as algebraically figuring out the run-time of a certain function | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:12 stalife wrote: I think just as long as you are passionate about CS, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do after graduating This is the kind of statement I'm trying to defeat! Let's look at this: "As long as you are passionate about card games, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do for a career." Now, obviously it's not directly applicable since there are jobs readily available in CS, but you seriously need to consider what you are going to do. Or at least what part of CS you enjoy, but also what your future entails. You need to think if your future career is profitable or even in existence. It's not a good idea to just let your passion take you down one road if it's a dead end. You need foresight. This is what I'm trying to get at - following your passion blindly is a optimistic gamble at best. Yes, a lot of times you have no idea and so that's your best bet, but at least give it some thought! | ||
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ShinyGerbil
Canada519 Posts
I can tell you with certainty that with a 97.3% average, you WILL get into CS, and you WILL get several thousand dollars worth of scholarship money (apply for many hopefully). however, you are NOT guaranteed to be able to slack and do no work once you're actually in, because the courses are kind of hella hard, and good highschool marks don't make you any better off than anyone else in trying to succeed in university. To be honest, even if you said you had an 83% average i would say you'd get in for sure. | ||
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Echo515
Canada105 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:23 Chill wrote: This is the kind of statement I'm trying to defeat! Let's look at this: "As long as you are passionate about card games, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do for a career." Now, obviously it's not directly applicable since there are jobs readily available in CS, but you seriously need to consider what you are going to do. Or at least what part of CS you enjoy, but also what your future entails. You need to think if your future career is profitable or even in existence. It's not a good idea to just let your passion take you down one road if it's a dead end. You need foresight. This is what I'm trying to get at - following your passion blindly is a optimistic gamble at best. Yes, a lot of times you have no idea and so that's your best bet, but at least give it some thought! What I'm hoping is that while I'm studying I will get a better feel for what type of job I will want and what exactly I like in CS. I just know that in general it interests me and I like "math-y" stuff. I don't have a great idea of what jobs in the CS field will be like because imo I don't know THAT much about it yet. (at least not on a higher level). | ||
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goswser
United States3548 Posts
For example, one problem may ask you to write code that takes an integer and outputs the very first digit of the interger. oo i am in high school and this question was from our textbook. anyways, me and the person next to me came up with something like # / 10 ^ (Mod (log #)) | ||
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Cambium
United States16368 Posts
I think UW is a much better choice than any other school in Canada because of its co-op program (I've taken a lot of courses from the CS department, they aren't that spectacular tbh). If you just want a decent programming job (the wife part is really up to you) after graduation, UW co-op can almost guarantee that. Also, unless you are doing research, what you learn from class will be of very little help to you at your workplace, what you learn through co-op is much more valuable when it comes to passing interviews. I am in UW Engineering, and I have taken a lot of courses from CS, and did all my 6 co-op terms in a CS field. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them  edit: Software Engineering vs. Computer Science at Waterloo Software Engineering is basically CS with a bunch of courses that you hate from Engineering (like engineering ethics and software management). Unless you want an iron ring (it's kind of cool), I would choose Computer Science. You have a lot of electives in Computer Science, and you can take these courses from any department, SE included. CS have cheaper tuitions, and you have a lot more electives to broaden your perspective on subjects outside of Computer Science. You can also have flexible co-op terms should you want to work for a computer for eight months or a year consecutively. | ||
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Cambium
United States16368 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:35 Echo515 wrote: What I'm hoping is that while I'm studying I will get a better feel for what type of job I will want and what exactly I like in CS. I just know that in general it interests me and I like "math-y" stuff. I don't have a great idea of what jobs in the CS field will be like because imo I don't know THAT much about it yet. (at least not on a higher level). I think that's fine. But be aware, CS is not exactly programming. Computer Science is actually mostly rigorous math applied in a computer application setting. Most of the time, you will be asked to prove the correctness of a well-known algorithm, its runtime, etc instead of writing code. edit: I agree with Chill in that you should not live at home. Even if you have financial problems, you should try to live on campus during your first year (that's when people bond the most). Since you think university education is a worthwhile investment, then so is living on campus during your first year. This should not be a big problem financially because you are pretty much guaranteed a scholarship (Renee Descartes iirc) and the earnings from co-op will be more than enough to cover your living expenses for your workterm and your following academic term, if you don't live lavishly. (I'm graduating with 0 debt, and I lived every term on campus) | ||
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duckett
United States589 Posts
dude read your posts in this thread. you come off as pretty uhh closed minded? idk if that says it right, but you're acting like you know what's best for him socially, which is really hard to pin down. | ||
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pachi
Melbourne5338 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:23 Chill wrote: This is the kind of statement I'm trying to defeat! Let's look at this: "As long as you are passionate about card games, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do for a career." Now, obviously it's not directly applicable since there are jobs readily available in CS, but you seriously need to consider what you are going to do. Or at least what part of CS you enjoy, but also what your future entails. You need to think if your future career is profitable or even in existence. It's not a good idea to just let your passion take you down one road if it's a dead end. You need foresight. This is what I'm trying to get at - following your passion blindly is a optimistic gamble at best. Yes, a lot of times you have no idea and so that's your best bet, but at least give it some thought! Chill, when I grow up I want to be you. How do I achieve this? | ||
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tarpman
Canada723 Posts
Waterloo is known for having the best CS program in Canada. The cause and result of that are the same: it is full of people who are passionate about computer science (of which software development, as people have mentioned, is only one facet). Many (I hesitate to say "most" because I don't actually know) people there have experience in the field when they start there, some even to the point of being moderately well known in the open source community. I don't know what Chill considers an active social life but I do know that Waterloo is not a place where the CS students sit alone in little dark rooms and write code. The CS club is very active and students spend a lot of time together working on coursework and personal projects and also on non-CS activities. With the kind of grades you've shown I suspect most universities would be happy to pay your way through any program of your choice. I can't honestly recommend Waterloo CS to you unless you already know for certain that that's the path you want your life to follow. I know from my own experience in CS that it is a field where what you get out depends hugely on what you put in -- the successful students are the ones who enjoy what they do and would be doing it even if they weren't going to school for it. If all you want is a degree of some kind, I'd recommend going with something else. | ||
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Ian Ian Ian
915 Posts
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Oracle
Canada411 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:48 Newguy wrote: oo i am in high school and this question was from our textbook. anyways, me and the person next to me came up with something like # / 10 ^ (Mod (log #)) im confused with your modulo function. What are you reducing mod what? It looks like your reducing log# by... nothing? Or are you reducing #/10 modulo log#? there's a simple way of doing it with loops/recursion while (x >= 10){ x = quotient(x,10); } return x; the 'hard' part is doing it without recursion though | ||
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stalife
Canada1222 Posts
For example, a commerce graduate could be a project manager for s/w development team. A music graduate may get into med school, and an engineer may become a politician. Of course, I'm not saying Chill is wrong, you need to know what sort of jobs are available for your field, and knowing ahead is definitely great. But I also think passion is an essential quality for everything in life. | ||
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HowitZer
United States1610 Posts
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Sunhay
Canada303 Posts
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JeeJee
Canada5652 Posts
i take some cs courses as part of my degree (cfm, pretty much i am in cs as far as the courses available to me are concerned), they're pretty jokes i don't get the difficulty of the question about returning the first digit of an integer how about converting it to string and taking the first character one line of codeand yes you can party your way thru waterloo CS if you avoid killer courses like realtime, graphics and ai. that's about it (those are 452, 488 and and 486 respectively) or you can nerd your way through. or take any mix in between really. it's entirely up to you and you should definitely live on campus XD OH, actually a useful piece of advice. well i assume you know java/c/c++ so you don't need to take their silly intro courses to it, so TAKE THE SCHEME COURSES! i didn't, and i really regret it. the java courses were a waste of my time and now i don't even know scheme (or any functional programming at all). trust me. | ||
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ironchef
Canada1350 Posts
TBH I feel the differences in schools isnt that big of a difference on the undergraduate level. But thats just my impression, cant really back that up . The coop system alone makes UW a good choice. Cant tell you exactly what to go for, but do look up things like options(eg bioinformatics, software eng), as some need to be applied for by first year. Also you might be able to skip the intro programming course, its sort of fluff if youre already experienced. I agree with the 'is this what you want' cautioning people are saying. However if you honestly feel this is what you want go for it. Its a pretty good choice. | ||
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illu
Canada2531 Posts
In another word, you should have written SAT, get accepted into Harvard, drop out after 2 years, and then.... (insert company's name here) :D:D | ||
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DBunny
Canada192 Posts
I don't think anyone is trying to imply that everyone from waterloo stays in their room every night but you have to admit that the campus is pretty quiet compared to other schools. Seriously though, go to Queens. | ||
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ImBa_JaCkAsS
Canada200 Posts
there ARE many Asians for sure but its not 99.999%! more like 99.998% | ||
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WheelOfTime
Canada331 Posts
Let me just say, at Waterloo CS, it's 97.3% male CS students, and 2.7% fugly female CS monsters. On top of that, you won't really get to know people from other faculties because: 1 - CS will kill you in terms of workload. 2 - People from other faculties look down on you. In addition, all the other hot chicks from various faculties are mostly Asian. Fobby ones too, so very little chance for you to score, being a white CS student and all. So, if you go to Waterloo, might as well buy yourself a few fleshlights because you won't get any. Period. | ||
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emperorchampion
Canada9496 Posts
From what I see you seem to be limiting yourself to one choice. I dunno... go out and live a little, then again I guess it is too late now. | ||
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JeeJee
Canada5652 Posts
On March 06 2010 00:21 WheelOfTime wrote: Oh dear god. Let me just say, at Waterloo CS, it's 97.3% male CS students, and 2.7% fugly female CS monsters. On top of that, you won't really get to know people from other faculties because: 1 - CS will kill you in terms of workload. 2 - People from other faculties look down on you. In addition, all the other hot chicks from various faculties are mostly Asian. Fobby ones too, so very little chance for you to score, being a white CS student and all. So, if you go to Waterloo, might as well buy yourself a few fleshlights because you won't get any. Period. lol bad troll is bad | ||
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Chromyne
Canada561 Posts
Everyone I talk to doesn't like Software Engineering and usually switches out. As someone else in this thread said, it combines Math/CS with the horrible parts of Engineering (PDENG?!). Unless you want the iron ring, I'd rather go into Math/CS. | ||
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Chill
Calgary26003 Posts
On February 06 2010 08:04 pachi wrote: Chill, when I grow up I want to be you. How do I achieve this? Start drinking. Now. | ||
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ironchef
Canada1350 Posts
On March 06 2010 04:05 Chromyne wrote: The OP is a little brag-ish. Not sure if a 97 will get you into CS? You can find recommended admission averages of programs fairly easily, so I'm not sure why the OP is so worried unless he didn't feel like looking this information up. If he were asking about Biotech/CA, it would be a little more understandable. Everyone I talk to doesn't like Software Engineering and usually switches out. As someone else in this thread said, it combines Math/CS with the horrible parts of Engineering (PDENG?!). Unless you want the iron ring, I'd rather go into Math/CS. Hey atleast it's not digital hardware. Going through barby/spike and no ring to show for it  .On the topic of social scene etc. Meh idk I woudlnt pick a university based off that personally.. It is very important, I agree. However if you really want to meet people and have fun, there's plenty of opportunities to do so . I'm sure the setting does make a difference but I think it's something you can easily compensate/overcome with personal choices. (eg time management, going out of your way to socialize/party etc.) It sounds cheesy, but in the end I guess the decision in itself isnt important (or shouldnt be super stressful) one way or another. Adapting and make the most out of your situation is always going to be the biggest factor imo. | ||
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