The University of Waterloo is at the leading edge of advancement and is home to a transformational look and roused learning. Situated in the core of Canada’s innovation center point, it has its primary grounds in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on 4 April 1956 as the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, a semi-autonomous element of Waterloo College, an offshoot of the University of Western Ontario. In 1957, the university opened its doors to 74 engineering students. Today, with over 42,000 students attending annually, Waterloo is #1 in Canada for experiential learning and employer-student connections. Here’s how an international student can apply to the University of Waterloo for an undergraduate degree.

English Proficiency Test Requirements

Proficiency & fluency in the English language is a mandated requirement if you think of being part of the esteemed University of Waterloo. International candidates are required to meet the English proficiency requirements if their first language is not English. Some of the English proficiency tests accepted at Waterloo and required minimum scores are: 

• 90 and above on the TOEFL iBT 
• 6.5 and above on the IELTS
• 63 and above on PTE Academic

However, students failing to meet the English proficiency requirements can be offered conditional admission by the university through Waterloo’s English Language for Academic Studies (ELAS) or Bridge to Academic Success in English (BASE), provided if they meet academic requirements.

Tuition Fee and Cost of Living

Studying abroad is expensive, though the merit-based scholarship aids, academic entrance scholarship, and earn while you learn schemes make it affordable for the applicant to survive abroad. The annual tuition fee and cost of living expenses listed below are an estimate, and it’s always best to check the official university’s website before applying:

The conversion from CAD to INR has been made with C$1 = ₹55. The cost may vary with the varying exchange rate.

Application Portal

If one wishes to be a full-time student at Waterloo, the applicant can apply through the Provincial Application only, available on the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC), with an application fee of C$166. All international applicants are required to apply through the OUAC 105 application.

After submitting the application, the applicant receives all the details from the university through emails within two weeks. After receiving the confirmation email from the university, the applicant gets its eight-digit Waterloo student number and then needs to upload documents to the Quest which is Waterloo’s online student information system. Further communication and changes to the application can be made through Quest. 

Essay Prompts

In addition to academic transcripts, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation, Waterloo gives applicants the option of filling the Admission Information Form (AIF), similar to the Essay Prompts required by the other universities. 

The AIF lets the authorities rethink a particular application as it contains the record of all the extracurricular activities, answers to specific questions that describe the applicant at best, and certain other things about which the applicant can boast while applying to the university. The AIF is required and can be submitted through Quest when the applicant gets a confirmation email from Waterloo. 

College Application Deadlines

The University of Waterloo doesn’t offer a flexible pattern in the application process and has a constant deadline for most courses. The admission offers are usually sent by mid-May to the applicants and they are expected to respond to the university latest by June 1. For reference, here’s the tentative deadline:

Keep track of important deadlines via Uni Deadlines feature of UniRely.

Conclusion

Though the application process of Waterloo is quite cumbersome and tiring, the efforts don’t go in vain once you get into the university. UniRely has student mentors studying at the University of Waterloo who will help you make your application better. Sign up on UniRely to learn more about the application process to universities in Canada for an undergraduate degree.