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Getting into Waterloo CS?

Blogs > iSeeNubs
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1 2 Next All
johndavis
Profile Joined December 2010
94 Posts
January 04 2011 23:19 GMT
#1
So I'm still in grade 10 and it seems to be Uni will be coming up very fast. I am looking towards UW as my school of choice, however, my English mark hasn't been very good.
So here are my questions:

1. How much will English 10-1 affect my overall chances, or will they just look at 20-1 and 30-1?

2. What are the minimum requirements to be accepted?

Here are my current marks

Math: 91%
English: 78%
Computer Science: 94%
Science: next sem.
Social: next sem.

Preferably a student at UW be able to answer this, but I'm open to most answers.

Thanks

Sufficiency
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Canada23833 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-04 23:36:30
January 04 2011 23:24 GMT
#2
I got in UofT (not CS) with 70% in Grade 12 English. I am fairly sure you can do better than me.

Also, please note that you don't have to get in as a CS major. You can get into UW with pretty much any major (preferably something similar to CS, say mathematics, but has lower requirement), then switch major after you get in. They might be careful about your first year universitiy GPA, but at least you don't have to take English in first year.

Summary: don't worry about it, you are fine. If you want to be sure, apply for UW twice, once in CS and another one in something with very low requirement.

I am biased on this, but UofT's CS is by no means worse than UW. UW shines on co-op, though.


EDIT: I know this may be a bit early for you, but do you think you want to do graduate studies in CS as well?
https://twitter.com/SufficientStats
munchmunch
Profile Joined October 2010
Canada789 Posts
January 04 2011 23:30 GMT
#3
It's been a while since I've been a UW CS student, but I'd doubt that your grade 10 marks will matter at all for admission. The most important marks are your gr. 12 and (to a lesser extent gr. 11) marks. See

http://www.findoutmore.uwaterloo.ca/programs/Computer Science

http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/navigation/Prospective/prospectiveAdmissions.shtml

for explicit details. Back in the day, CS was much easier to get into than engineering, and an average in the mid 80s, with 90s in technical courses, would have been sufficient. Maybe somebody else can comment on whether or not that is still true.
Hidden_MotiveS
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Canada2562 Posts
January 05 2011 00:07 GMT
#4
I remember the University of Toronto had some strict cutoffs on marks you needed to get in in practically every science course you'd taken. It was in the brochure.

I'd reask this question on studentawards.com


Waterloo I know posts their information on Cudo
http://www.analysis.uwaterloo.ca/docs/cudo_2008/htmlSectionB.php#sectionb2

A quick google for "waterloo common data set" led me here.

http://www.findoutmore.uwaterloo.ca/programs/Computer Science
This is Waterloo's information on computer science students.

Here's some more info
http://www.findoutmore.uwaterloo.ca/admissions/requirements.php

From what I've heard (and corroborated by my first link), it's possible to get into UW with an 80 average.
Coramoor
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Canada455 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-05 00:36:36
January 05 2011 00:34 GMT
#5
You have a lot of things to consider on this regard

first off grade 10 is a little early but if you wish to plan ahead then that is your choice

I'm currently attending the university of guelph, which as i'm sure you know has the 2nd ranked CS program in canada after UW

Second thing to note is that the only marks that really matter are your gr 11 and 12 marks, most of the stuff you're doing now, especially the computer science is reasonably useless to your future education, although it certainly does look good to have CS of some kind on your resume for applying.

I do not want this to appear racist simply because it is not, it is just the truth, there was an article in macleans recently, which has since been pulled for being controversial, but it's true, is that the computer science and some of the more hardcore eng and math areas of campus have gained the nickname mainland china for the large number of asian students there, especially those of an ESL nature, the article listed situations in which a TA got sick of trying to explain a concept in english and switched to mandarin, and most of the class understood what he was saying. So i'd advise against UW for that and quality of life on campus issues, however if those aren't priorities for you, or you happen to be asian and/or ESL, then you should be good with a solid 85 avg and good extracurriculars for your application
Lightswarm
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Canada967 Posts
January 05 2011 00:56 GMT
#6
i know people who go to UW. mostly, u just need to be able to write SAT style essays. they do the english tests for all the students before accepting people, so if anything work on my writing skills
Team[AoV]
Oracle
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
Canada411 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-05 01:12:38
January 05 2011 01:10 GMT
#7
I go to waterloo for a bachelors of computer science with combinatorics and optimization

im on my co-op term right now, but i have completed my 2A term (thats 3 terms).

grade 10 marks dont matter. Grade 11 marks matter for early acceptance, and grade 12 marks matter the most. Get a 90%+ average in grade 12 with some nice extra cirriculars and youll be set. Write euclid and scoring well helps. Getting a 90% in highschool isnt hard at all. In fact its ridiculously easy, you'll come to learn that when u start taking courses here, and realize how little you actually learn in high school.

be aware that computer science isnt what its like in high school. All that programming and stuff is mostly software engineering.

Computer science is pretty much a math degree, with a lot of theory, algorithm and optimization work.

if you want to actually program, aim for software engineering. if youre more interested in the theoretical then CS is for you.
Rjay
Profile Joined July 2010
Canada73 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-05 01:13:45
January 05 2011 01:12 GMT
#8
I'm in waterloo CS. Your 10th grade marks are meaningless, if you have 80-85% average you'll probably get in. I got in with an 86%, but I know ppl who've gotten in with less.

p.s. The english exam the force you to take at the very beginning was hilariously easy, unless you somehow get low 60's or below in english I wouldn't worry.
King K. Rool
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Canada4408 Posts
January 05 2011 02:24 GMT
#9
Last term in CS Waterloo.

They look at top 6 marks IIRC. Maths are important, and you have to have your English mark I believe. 80% will get you in I'd say, I had 90+, but high school is pretty easy. If you do well on other subjects it'll "cover" your english mark.

Just give them some math marks, english, CS (if possible) and your other highest gr12 marks, regardless of what subject (I gave them my music mark as well).
Sufficiency
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Canada23833 Posts
January 05 2011 03:04 GMT
#10
On January 05 2011 09:34 Coramoor wrote:
You have a lot of things to consider on this regard

first off grade 10 is a little early but if you wish to plan ahead then that is your choice

I'm currently attending the university of guelph, which as i'm sure you know has the 2nd ranked CS program in canada after UW

Second thing to note is that the only marks that really matter are your gr 11 and 12 marks, most of the stuff you're doing now, especially the computer science is reasonably useless to your future education, although it certainly does look good to have CS of some kind on your resume for applying.

I do not want this to appear racist simply because it is not, it is just the truth, there was an article in macleans recently, which has since been pulled for being controversial, but it's true, is that the computer science and some of the more hardcore eng and math areas of campus have gained the nickname mainland china for the large number of asian students there, especially those of an ESL nature, the article listed situations in which a TA got sick of trying to explain a concept in english and switched to mandarin, and most of the class understood what he was saying. So i'd advise against UW for that and quality of life on campus issues, however if those aren't priorities for you, or you happen to be asian and/or ESL, then you should be good with a solid 85 avg and good extracurriculars for your application


I seriously didn't know University of Guelph was supposed to be good at CS. LoL. Maybe it is, I don't know, but it does seem very small - only 20 faculty members, many of which are actually in bioinformatics. Faculty size is a strong indicator of departmental strength. There also isn't a lot of seminars going on from what I can see (if at all).

It's superior than uoft in the sense that it has co-op. But we are not even sure if OP is interested in persueing graduate studies. He should definitely come to uoft or waterloo if he is interested in research. But again, this is too early to tell.
https://twitter.com/SufficientStats
emperorchampion
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Canada9496 Posts
January 05 2011 03:18 GMT
#11
Canadian Universities are ridiculously easy to get into. If you have those same marks in Grade 12, with Sciences ~85% you will be accepted 100%, provided you have a few extra-curricular.

P.S: Don't go to Waterloo!!! :p
TRUEESPORTS || your days as a respected member of team liquid are over
Sufficiency
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Canada23833 Posts
January 05 2011 03:20 GMT
#12
On January 05 2011 12:18 emperorchampion wrote:
Canadian Universities are ridiculously easy to get into. If you have those same marks in Grade 12, with Sciences ~85% you will be accepted 100%, provided you have a few extra-curricular.

P.S: Don't go to Waterloo!!! :p


Are you kidding? Waterloo's CS is very strong.

Remember the time (last year?) which Blizzard was visiting different universities to hire people? The only Canadian university they went to was Waterloo.
https://twitter.com/SufficientStats
johndavis
Profile Joined December 2010
94 Posts
January 05 2011 03:25 GMT
#13
Remember the time (last year?) which Blizzard was visiting different universities to hire people? The only Canadian university they went to was Waterloo.


haha ok this motivates me even more, I'll probably look more into this next year, where things such as early acceptance and scholarship apply comes. Thanks! :D
Sufficiency
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Canada23833 Posts
January 05 2011 03:33 GMT
#14
On January 05 2011 12:25 iSeeNubs wrote:
Show nested quote +
Remember the time (last year?) which Blizzard was visiting different universities to hire people? The only Canadian university they went to was Waterloo.


haha ok this motivates me even more, I'll probably look more into this next year, where things such as early acceptance and scholarship apply comes. Thanks! :D


I am pretty sure you will be OK. Getting into a Canadian university is really easy. Like I said, apply to two different Waterloo programs just in case.

Just make sure you get over 90 for all the grade 12 math courses (there are three of them I think), grade 12 computer science, and take some other science courses (physics, chemistry, biology at the grade 12 level), and don't do *too poorly* for grade 12 english (i.e. don't get lower than 70, lol), and you are set! Sit back and enjoy all the acceptance letters.

Do know that the tuition for CS per year is probably 10k+. It's a big commitment.
https://twitter.com/SufficientStats
johndavis
Profile Joined December 2010
94 Posts
January 05 2011 03:38 GMT
#15
On January 05 2011 12:33 Sufficiency wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 05 2011 12:25 iSeeNubs wrote:
Remember the time (last year?) which Blizzard was visiting different universities to hire people? The only Canadian university they went to was Waterloo.


haha ok this motivates me even more, I'll probably look more into this next year, where things such as early acceptance and scholarship apply comes. Thanks! :D


I am pretty sure you will be OK. Getting into a Canadian university is really easy. Like I said, apply to two different Waterloo programs just in case.

Just make sure you get over 90 for all the grade 12 math courses (there are three of them I think), grade 12 computer science, and take some other science courses (physics, chemistry, biology at the grade 12 level), and don't do *too poorly* for grade 12 english (i.e. don't get lower than 70, lol), and you are set! Sit back and enjoy all the acceptance letters.

Do know that the tuition for CS per year is probably 10k+. It's a big commitment.




Hehe it's just funny how you guys make it seem so easy as compared to how my parents describe it. lol

I probably won't get lower than 70 unless if some bizzare disaster happens. o.o
kOre
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
Canada3642 Posts
January 05 2011 03:44 GMT
#16
I went to UW for Software Programming which is essentially CS + Math and my English was crap. As long as your other grades are nice and high 90%+ and even if your English is like 75% they don't weigh too much on English compared to the other marks.
http://www.starcraftmecca.net - Founder
Monoxide
Profile Blog Joined January 2007
Canada1190 Posts
January 05 2011 03:49 GMT
#17
UW's CS program is very very strong. I go to U of T and I would say UW's program is very strong. According to my professors, we have one of the best graduate computer science programs in NA. Wouldn't that mean the our undergrad CS program isn't bad as well? I'm not in CS but have taken some courses in that department. I dunno about Guelph being 2nd in Canada.
johndavis
Profile Joined December 2010
94 Posts
January 05 2011 04:01 GMT
#18
So kOre what brought you back to Calgary? :D

I knew english wouldn't be much of an impact in this field of study, but wasn't excactly sure of how it would affect those chances, and it seems it doesnt weight too much. ;p
Cambium
Profile Blog Joined June 2004
United States16368 Posts
January 05 2011 04:22 GMT
#19
On January 05 2011 12:49 Monoxide wrote:
UW's CS program is very very strong. I go to U of T and I would say UW's program is very strong. According to my professors, we have one of the best graduate computer science programs in NA. Wouldn't that mean the our undergrad CS program isn't bad as well? I'm not in CS but have taken some courses in that department. I dunno about Guelph being 2nd in Canada.

waterloo UG is "strong" because co-op attracts top students in canada, imo, the teaching quality is so-so.

as for its grad program, waterloo has very few well-known profs, and probably not too much funding.
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
The_LiNk
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Canada863 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-05 04:41:15
January 05 2011 04:38 GMT
#20
Waterloo: Canada's number one job seeker centre.
Ya, I'm hating. Waterloo's reputation in undergrad computer science is well earned, but everything else is overrated.

Are you looking to go into computer science? You need SPI4U4(Grade 12 physics), MCV4U4 (Calculus and Vectors), and ENG4U4 (English). You may need MHF4U4, not sure, I know its a preferred course (you need it anyways to take calculus but it doesn't have to be your top 6). These are Ontario prerequisites though.

I'm going to assume you're Chinese or at least an immigrant/visa student because of your low English mark and high Mathematics and Computer Science. (Now you may say that I am being a racist, but I am Chinese, and I go to the infamous Bayview SS where 46% of the school is of Chinese ethnicity alone and the pattern is consistent. Last year!)
So how do you win?
80% minimum in English (aim for this, its a good safeguard for your minimum)
85+ Calculus
90+ Advance Functions (course is easy, trust)
80+ Physics (i set number low here because I here physics is a raping)
90+ for your Electives (pick Comp Sci, helps you immensely in first year.

If you're going for business, Waterloo is only recommended for Accounting. The Co-op helps you get CA designations asap and the work experience helps accountants immensely.

EDIT: DERP! I read Waterloo CSL in the title.
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