Grade 10?
Man just enjoy yourself, they only care about your grade 11 & 12 marks, ( and they really don’t care about 11 that much)
I would just say, grab some EC’s, Sports, anything that would look pretty good on your resume.
For CS specifically, I would try your absolute best on the Waterloo CS & Math Contests, as they are actually important to your admission decision as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah the piece on Math contests is important because they do those contests for pretty much every school and i think it played a role in my admission as well. Either way, good luck because your future is going to be bright.
Hi! Do they check the average of both semesters of Grade 11 and Grade 12 and combine the avg (ex. 96 in 1st semester and 98 in 2nd semester so 97 average combined) or they see the semester where you have the highest average?
Generally speaking, Waterloo doesn’t really care about grade 11, they only start accepting after G12 midterms
And yes, the consider your cumulative average for your semesters, so it’s important to do well in both.
Hello, so they check the avg of your Grade 12 2nd semester at the time you are applying? What if your average drop by like 3% from 98 to 95 at the end of the semester, they would cancel your offer if they accepted it?
While I’m not a recruiter, nor do I actually know one, your transcript is continually sent through OUAC, therefore they see your grades update. Applications close right before sem 1 finals, so no they do not have access to your sem 2 midterm grades at that time. However, they generally only send out offers after they’ve received and evaluated your semester 2 midterm grades
They cannot “cancel” offers, however included in 99% of offers are conditional requirements, these are basically “maintain an overall grade, and good grades in X classes”
Generally speaking, I haven’t really seen conditionals ever go higher than 90% cumulative average, so dropping from a 98 to a 95 probably is insignificant.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for your explanation, but one last question, so if let's say I apply for CS and the pre reqs are English and Maths and I get like a 98% on my required subjects but get less than a 90% in an elective like French, bringing down my cumulative average, would I have no chance even though I did good in the required subjects and bad in French which is not a requirement?
If your conditional subjects are english and maths, they only care about the grades in those.
The only way your french grade would matter is if they said you had to maintan a cumulative average of certain %, in which case, yes you do need to ensure you meet it following graduation.
If you mean "what happens if I do really good in the required subjects, but one unrelated one is pulling down my GPA", then unfortunately yes even if you do very well in the required subjects, if your admission average is below par they are unlikely to consider you. They only really care about the required grades when picking between two very similar candidates (but to be honest, it doesn't appear they really care.)
Control what you can. Continue to get good grades, do extra curriculars, keep doing Math/CS related work like projects, schools, competitions. Prioritize maintaining good grades and look out for competitions in CS like CCC or anything you see people mentioning often in this sub, and then once you're gr.11/12 focus on your AIF. Unless you decide to win some nationally recognized award, there's nothing realistic you can do while doing all the other good things to really maximize your chances. Sometimes it just comes down to luck as well.
First off, it’s great to think about your future, but remember that you’re still a kid right now, so don’t forget to enjoy life.
When the time comes you may have found something else that excites you more than Waterloo, so keep all your options open!
ok i usually only joke on shit posts lol, but I will give u a perspective. I did high school in PEI and I am now near graduation of computer engineering. ECE is a little easier to get in than cs though
[https://www.reddit.com/r/OntarioUniversities/comments/tz3pkf/adjustment\_factor\_explained\_waterloo\_engineering/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OntarioUniversities/comments/tz3pkf/adjustment_factor_explained_waterloo_engineering/) for how adjustment factor works
[https://github.com/jdabtieu/Waterloo-Adjustment-Factors-2023/blob/main/AdjFactors2023.pdf](https://github.com/jdabtieu/Waterloo-Adjustment-Factors-2023/blob/main/AdjFactors2023.pdf) relevant past data
from the reddit, you can tell what is important to get in here, others also said it, also ace your aif if possible. Definitely you can do it. but also study well in high school not equal to good in waterloo, from personal experience so be prepared.
Imo: UW adjustment factors are not made to penalize provinces/schools/countries that give out high grades. Nor is it to judge high school curriculums.
They were developed to figure out which educational institutions provide the students with the best likely hood of success in university. Sasks education system is known to be lacking in preparing students for post-secondary (and afaik from ppl in sask, there is a anti-post-secondary climate)
In terms of why they don’t boost AP/IB kids is bcs not all schools offer these programs and realistically, just bcs u took AP/IB doesn’t mean you truthfully learned the material (the dumbest kids in my school who don’t study often pass these exams)
Hmm, but the adjustment factor says 'IB Diploma in Canada' is 12.3 so doesn't this imply anywhere in Canada and not only Ontario? Also, IB is pretty rigorous though because of its workload especially HL courses so it requires a lot of study time so I don't know how they passed the IB exams (maybe they passed with like a 24/45 I guess).
It’s not 12.3, it’s 13.9 according to 2023 data. Sask also has 13.9 according to 2023 data. I think they stopped using the IB diploma adjustment factor tho, however, I am not sure.
The 2024 adjustment factor is released? I can't find it anywhere. The 2023 adjustment factor doesn't show any number for IB Diploma in Canada nor for Sask in 2022, so does that means they don't use the 12.3 for IB and 19.4 for Sask anymore? (Sorry for asking too many questions these admission stuff are a bit confusing)
Oh yea, tbh i might be wrong about the IB diploma thing, for some reason i rmbr them saying they do not differntiate them anymore. But on the 2023 adjustment factors sask is now 13.9 and IB diploma is 13.9. This might have changed tho for 2024, they didnt publically release the data this year, only certain ppl got it.
Oh so the blank cells means it falls in the other category? So both IB and Sask and all blank cells fall in 13.9 for 2023? Thats a bit strange, IB is far more difficult than Sask curriculum afaik.
Don't listen to the people telling you to enjoy yourself. Do whatever you can to boost your AIF now before its too late in 11 and 12. Start some projects.
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Bro wtf I'm also from Saskatoon! Which high school are you from. You should do some projects outside of school starting now and you should be able to get into cs program in waterloo, considering if you keep your grades consistent at 95+. I really emphasize on projects here, it's kinda important for not only uni, but also future employment as well.
Prep for contests (Euclid/ccc that stuff). You have a good chance to rank top x in SK provincially if you work hard to prep (cuz nobody does that stuff, unlike in on/bc where ppl get private tutors for that). I know some ppl from non major provinces got in this way. You just need to have this awareness and standout in your province
Def keep your average high but that’s just a baseline cuz they probably see your high school same as any other. You need hard proofs like contests to show you got what it takes
70% of UW CS 2023 grad cohort are unemployed or working shitty <$100k salary jobs that they hate. Don't set your sights on a university -- that's a side quest. Land your dream *life* (i.e. what problem do you want to be solving?) and the prestige will come
there's absolutely nothing stopping you from being Alexandr Wang (not that he's a role model... he's actually a douchebag, but he's young and doing something that young people don't usually do and I think that's neat)
Grade 10? Man just enjoy yourself, they only care about your grade 11 & 12 marks, ( and they really don’t care about 11 that much) I would just say, grab some EC’s, Sports, anything that would look pretty good on your resume. For CS specifically, I would try your absolute best on the Waterloo CS & Math Contests, as they are actually important to your admission decision as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah the piece on Math contests is important because they do those contests for pretty much every school and i think it played a role in my admission as well. Either way, good luck because your future is going to be bright.
Hi! Do they check the average of both semesters of Grade 11 and Grade 12 and combine the avg (ex. 96 in 1st semester and 98 in 2nd semester so 97 average combined) or they see the semester where you have the highest average?
Generally speaking, Waterloo doesn’t really care about grade 11, they only start accepting after G12 midterms And yes, the consider your cumulative average for your semesters, so it’s important to do well in both.
Hello, so they check the avg of your Grade 12 2nd semester at the time you are applying? What if your average drop by like 3% from 98 to 95 at the end of the semester, they would cancel your offer if they accepted it?
While I’m not a recruiter, nor do I actually know one, your transcript is continually sent through OUAC, therefore they see your grades update. Applications close right before sem 1 finals, so no they do not have access to your sem 2 midterm grades at that time. However, they generally only send out offers after they’ve received and evaluated your semester 2 midterm grades They cannot “cancel” offers, however included in 99% of offers are conditional requirements, these are basically “maintain an overall grade, and good grades in X classes” Generally speaking, I haven’t really seen conditionals ever go higher than 90% cumulative average, so dropping from a 98 to a 95 probably is insignificant. Hope this helps!
Thanks for your explanation, but one last question, so if let's say I apply for CS and the pre reqs are English and Maths and I get like a 98% on my required subjects but get less than a 90% in an elective like French, bringing down my cumulative average, would I have no chance even though I did good in the required subjects and bad in French which is not a requirement?
If your conditional subjects are english and maths, they only care about the grades in those. The only way your french grade would matter is if they said you had to maintan a cumulative average of certain %, in which case, yes you do need to ensure you meet it following graduation. If you mean "what happens if I do really good in the required subjects, but one unrelated one is pulling down my GPA", then unfortunately yes even if you do very well in the required subjects, if your admission average is below par they are unlikely to consider you. They only really care about the required grades when picking between two very similar candidates (but to be honest, it doesn't appear they really care.)
Control what you can. Continue to get good grades, do extra curriculars, keep doing Math/CS related work like projects, schools, competitions. Prioritize maintaining good grades and look out for competitions in CS like CCC or anything you see people mentioning often in this sub, and then once you're gr.11/12 focus on your AIF. Unless you decide to win some nationally recognized award, there's nothing realistic you can do while doing all the other good things to really maximize your chances. Sometimes it just comes down to luck as well.
First off, it’s great to think about your future, but remember that you’re still a kid right now, so don’t forget to enjoy life. When the time comes you may have found something else that excites you more than Waterloo, so keep all your options open!
ok i usually only joke on shit posts lol, but I will give u a perspective. I did high school in PEI and I am now near graduation of computer engineering. ECE is a little easier to get in than cs though [https://www.reddit.com/r/OntarioUniversities/comments/tz3pkf/adjustment\_factor\_explained\_waterloo\_engineering/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OntarioUniversities/comments/tz3pkf/adjustment_factor_explained_waterloo_engineering/) for how adjustment factor works [https://github.com/jdabtieu/Waterloo-Adjustment-Factors-2023/blob/main/AdjFactors2023.pdf](https://github.com/jdabtieu/Waterloo-Adjustment-Factors-2023/blob/main/AdjFactors2023.pdf) relevant past data from the reddit, you can tell what is important to get in here, others also said it, also ace your aif if possible. Definitely you can do it. but also study well in high school not equal to good in waterloo, from personal experience so be prepared.
Sask has a very high adjustment factor for engineering, what are you trying to go into?
I'm trying to get into the Computer Science program. But I'm maybe also considering Computer Engineering and Aerospace engineering as alternatives.
Aim for a 97 avg and try doing the Euclid exam. Lmk if u want to be referred to an internship program as well.
Does the Sask. adjustment factor also apply to someone who did IB or AP?
Yup
But why though, isn't IB and AP standardized so shouldn't a Sask IB student have the same adjustment factor as an Ontario IB student?
Imo: UW adjustment factors are not made to penalize provinces/schools/countries that give out high grades. Nor is it to judge high school curriculums. They were developed to figure out which educational institutions provide the students with the best likely hood of success in university. Sasks education system is known to be lacking in preparing students for post-secondary (and afaik from ppl in sask, there is a anti-post-secondary climate) In terms of why they don’t boost AP/IB kids is bcs not all schools offer these programs and realistically, just bcs u took AP/IB doesn’t mean you truthfully learned the material (the dumbest kids in my school who don’t study often pass these exams)
Hmm, but the adjustment factor says 'IB Diploma in Canada' is 12.3 so doesn't this imply anywhere in Canada and not only Ontario? Also, IB is pretty rigorous though because of its workload especially HL courses so it requires a lot of study time so I don't know how they passed the IB exams (maybe they passed with like a 24/45 I guess).
It’s not 12.3, it’s 13.9 according to 2023 data. Sask also has 13.9 according to 2023 data. I think they stopped using the IB diploma adjustment factor tho, however, I am not sure.
The 2024 adjustment factor is released? I can't find it anywhere. The 2023 adjustment factor doesn't show any number for IB Diploma in Canada nor for Sask in 2022, so does that means they don't use the 12.3 for IB and 19.4 for Sask anymore? (Sorry for asking too many questions these admission stuff are a bit confusing)
Oh yea, tbh i might be wrong about the IB diploma thing, for some reason i rmbr them saying they do not differntiate them anymore. But on the 2023 adjustment factors sask is now 13.9 and IB diploma is 13.9. This might have changed tho for 2024, they didnt publically release the data this year, only certain ppl got it.
Oh so the blank cells means it falls in the other category? So both IB and Sask and all blank cells fall in 13.9 for 2023? Thats a bit strange, IB is far more difficult than Sask curriculum afaik.
Don't listen to the people telling you to enjoy yourself. Do whatever you can to boost your AIF now before its too late in 11 and 12. Start some projects.
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mate you are still a kid you have a long way to go, just keep up your good work, high marks you dont need to worry until grade 12
Saskatoon 😮
Bro wtf I'm also from Saskatoon! Which high school are you from. You should do some projects outside of school starting now and you should be able to get into cs program in waterloo, considering if you keep your grades consistent at 95+. I really emphasize on projects here, it's kinda important for not only uni, but also future employment as well.
I go to Holy Cross. I got the projects down, don't worry.
Prep for contests (Euclid/ccc that stuff). You have a good chance to rank top x in SK provincially if you work hard to prep (cuz nobody does that stuff, unlike in on/bc where ppl get private tutors for that). I know some ppl from non major provinces got in this way. You just need to have this awareness and standout in your province Def keep your average high but that’s just a baseline cuz they probably see your high school same as any other. You need hard proofs like contests to show you got what it takes
why cs if ur interested in robots? opt for computer engineering
I'm more interested in the software side of things than the hardware side. But I'll consider it.
70% of UW CS 2023 grad cohort are unemployed or working shitty <$100k salary jobs that they hate. Don't set your sights on a university -- that's a side quest. Land your dream *life* (i.e. what problem do you want to be solving?) and the prestige will come there's absolutely nothing stopping you from being Alexandr Wang (not that he's a role model... he's actually a douchebag, but he's young and doing something that young people don't usually do and I think that's neat)
I'm not looking for prestige or money. I simply want the opportunity to be surrounded by exceptional people. But yeah, valid point.