Tell me about Waterloo..

[hd2002]

A place full of geeks and not a single post on waterloo

Personally picked waterloo over queens and uoft because of its renowned coop education. I will start first year mechatronic engineering there this fall. I am on steam 4, so coop begins in January. A teacher of mine who used to go there told me steam 8 is actually better because the first coop term is actually in the summer, give you more time to get used to the campus life, etc. What is your take on it? Is it gonna be hard for me to get coop work in gta? And also what is the good, bad, evil of waterloo?

[KennethToronto]

A lot of my friends are at UW studying engineering doing co-op. Many had difficulty landing jobs the first time around and had to resort to doing stupid volunteer stuff.

However, now that they're in 3rd year, the jobs are much better (Honda, ATI, etc).

[bananaman]

Doing coop in January makes more sense because there's less competition. If you do the other stream whatever you call it, then you're competing against all the other engineering students from U of T, Queens, etc... for summer jobs.

I had to fight and scream to get an engineering job for the summer. Hopefully, my experience this year will land me an interesting PEY position next year.

[divx]

students are getting dumber these days. we (year 2004 students) are the worst ever at UW, with failure rate across the campus at 40%, while the norm is only 6% ~ 8%. Because of it, you, me, and everyone else have an easier time due to the extreme bell curve for EVERY SINGLE course

To reduce failure rate and thus increase tutition fees paid to the university, they have made drastic measures by having insane bell curves, so much that make me, who completely nuked the physics final exam passed with 66%, that's crazy considering the final worth like 70% of our final mark.

Conclusion, studnets are getting dumber and dumber each year, each of us won't have to work as hard as those before us. Mark inflation = easier degree. Now is the time to get a degree at UW if you want one

[babychai]

i find that stream 4 is a bit harder in that:

- you just started university and started to get used to campus life... then they make your life harder by making you apply to jobs and go for interviews

- most of the people you meet in frosh (and that live in your residence) will not be in the same stream as you... so it's definitely harder to keep some of these friends

- you will end your term on a 8 month study term... when you're just used to 4 months of school, 8 months of school is definitely something different. also, you have to save enough money during the last few terms of co-op to support this...

[divx]

I'd go crazy if I have to study for 8 month, 3 month is hard enough.

[aquariaguy]

I'm a pre-opter at UW.

[Tharyn]

Alright,

Well, first thing's first, don't spend ALL of your time studying and doing work, if you do, you'll find your time at Waterloo to be much less exciting than it could be. Don't get me wrong, you've gotta work hard, but you also party hard in the end.

I'm in 2nd Year EE, started in 2003 and here's my advice:

1. Don't worry about the ELPE (English Proficiency Exam) if you passed Gr. 12, then you'll pass all it is writing one essay on your choice from two topics, don't try and "study" for it, it's not worth it.

2. Don't worry about the math prep exam either, I failed it, and frankly it was one of the best things for first year, all that happens is that they recommend you go to an additional tutorial where you simply work on assignments and it's usually around 1 TA to like 10 students, so it's a GREAT way to get help.

3. Participate in FROSH WEEK, you'll meet a whole slew of people that are all new just like you, and you'll probably meet some people in your class, besides it's an absolute blast.

4. WEEF is GOOD, remember that, WEEF (Waterloo Engineering Endowment Fund), you automatically donate $75 with your Tuition (you get a tax return on it!) and it benefits all of us, it goes to fund new labs, equipment, and overall makes your experience at UW better in the long run. Don't pay attention to posters some idiots who have nothing better to do saying WEEF funds Arts, or Prof's salaries etc.. it's all not true, it only goes to the students.

5. Since you're 4 streem, make sure you've got your resume (all up to date) ready for when you get to campus, you'll start applying to jobs within the first couple weeks (I was also 4-Stream and yeah it's alot to deal with right off the bat so it pays to be prepared).

6. Don't be afraid to come into POETS (The Engineering Bar), I know I was in 1st year, you might be a little intimidated but we're all friendly people (I'm the manager this fall, so don't be afraid to come say hello, the name's Mark) We show movies every afternoon from 12 onward in POETS so it's a great place to chill and meet new people, we also serve (if you're of age) on Thursday and Friday.

7. Come to EngSoc meetings it's a great way to find out what's going in the Engineering Society, and there's FREE FOOD! Which is a plus for ALL students, hehe.

8. Come out to the EngSoc events, there's plenty of events EVERY term so it's always a blast, you gotta work hard, but you gotta let loose sometimes too! More info: www.engsoc.uwaterloo.ca

9. There's the "Of-Term" parties that happen at POETS for Beginning of Term (BOT), Middle (MOT), and End (EOT), which just another way all of us in Engineering all hang out to have a great time. BOT will be the First friday of the week we start Lectures.

10. Check out Frosh Mentoring, it's a great thing, basically we'll have forums set up where you can talk with upper year students to ask for advice, and just about anything... there's also going to be a couple outings where you can meet upper year students and have some free food!

That's all I can come up with now, but if you've got any questions or anything, feel free to PM me.

--Mark

[shear_force]

PDEng = Professional Development for Engineers

Starting for the incoming class in Sept 2004, PDEng is now a required course that must be completed every co-op term. Actually no, 5 out of 6 possible work terms so you do have a break from it once. I am now taking this course as an 8-stream civ eng on a work term.

There has been many problems with this course, mainly students were upset when they arrived at Waterloo and found out that we will never truly be away from taking mandatory courses at any time. As well the course is presented in an online format which is unreliable at best.

More info can be found at:

http://www.pdeng.uwaterloo.ca/

This is a result of students' opinions on the course:

www.pdengsucks.tridiumstudio.net

I'm just letting you know about this extra course you will be taking because as soon as you hit campus you will be hearing tons about this course. Mainly from students in my year since the general feeling about it negative across the board!

~Val


BTW, to answer your actual question in your post 4-stream and 8-stream each has their benefits. 8-stream really drains you academically wise while 4-stream doesn't give you that 'full first year'. Each is great so don't really stress what stream you are in!

[wanted]

students are getting dumber these days. we (year 2004 students) are the worst ever at UW, with failure rate across the campus at 40%, while the norm is only 6% ~ 8%. Because of it, you, me, and everyone else have an easier time due to the extreme bell curve for EVERY SINGLE course

To reduce failure rate and thus increase tutition fees paid to the university, they have made drastic measures by having insane bell curves, so much that make me, who completely nuked the physics final exam passed with 66%, that's crazy considering the final worth like 70% of our final mark.

Conclusion, studnets are getting dumber and dumber each year, each of us won't have to work as hard as those before us. Mark inflation = easier degree. Now is the time to get a degree at UW if you want one

How ironic

[hd2002]

wow, i wasn't expecting this much response.i will check out the bar for sure during the frosh week, mark.

shear_force, welcome to rfd. It's an honour to have your first post on my thread.

and keep these great tips coming, guys(and gals?)

[shear_force]

I've been hanging around for a few years now, got my very first freebies off of here around grade 10 I've just never posted before, I'm a lurker.

But PDEng, beware! It's not that bad if you pass, but well if you look at the petition the student started, there are some colourful opinions going around about it!

~Val

[Peter Griffin]

I'm finishing my Honours Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies double degree after this school year.

About Waterloo - It's a good school run by CS'ers and Engineers. As you're getting into engineering I assume that you'll have a great time with all the money our Arts tuition pays into those fancy labs and computer systems.

Not totally kidding about that last part. Just a little miffed by the short stick us Arts students get from the Administration is all. Anyways back to the cheerleading...

1) I was in Co-op for first year (businees) and dropped out simply because it was not worth my time to work at African Lion Safari (best job any other student without 'connections' recieved through Career Services) and pay the $500 a semester fee for that fun. But as was previously stated just sit it out the first few semesters with crappy jobs and you'll end-up with a good one sometime or later.

2) Try to get out. Engineering is hard as the 40% failure rate attests to but really don't stay indoors and study all the time. I still remember my friends from first year in engineering were two types: A) Anti-social shut-ins B) Fun people who enjoy spending time with others *some excessively so*

3) Meet people from Laurier. They are a lot of fun and can help with networking to meet new people in different places. Many of my friends from outside of class are laurier students and I get to meet all kinds of different people in the city.

4) See live music. There's plenty of bands touring through the city so don't be afraid to take a chance and see a band you've never heard of before - plus it is way better than going to some dance bar IMHO.

5) Schooling should be first priority. I've seen a few friends fail out simply because they spent too much time partying and not enough studying. I think if you picked a program which interests you then this becomes much easier. I find my studies to be incredibly engrossing and apart from the odd dull course (municipal politics, ugh) you'll be able to do well. Really take an interest and you;ll excell.

So that's my mini-summation. I never regret choosing Waterloo - mostly because of the people I've met and my program. So don't be afraid to switch engineering majors or faculties altogether. It might just keep you in school; you'll be far happier.

[jc4ho]

hey i went to waterloo today to check out the house i'm moving into in a few weeks.

and i can't believe waterloo still stinks after 3 months.

what the hell

[Rehii]

hey i went to waterloo today to check out the house i'm moving into in a few weeks.

and i can't believe waterloo still stinks after 3 months.

what the hell

Waterloo always smells like cows and horses ... but it's stronger in the summer term.