What Were the Students Who Got Into Waterloo Engineering Doing Before They Applied?

Ontario University Admissions 2026-2027: Your Guide to the University of Waterloo Engineering Admission Information Form (AIF)

Waterloo Engineering requires 3 things: marks, a supplementary application called the Admission Information Form (AIF), and a video interview. Here’s what each one measures, how the AIF is scored, what the adjustment factor does, and why the year the application covers closes before the deadline.

Waterloo Engineering is the program our families ask about more than almost any other.

One of the most burning questions is:

What average does my child need to get in?

Waterloo has published an answer, but it’s less satisfying than parents hope. On its admission requirements page, the Faculty of Engineering states that admission is not guaranteed based on a specific average, that there is no absolute grade cut-off for any engineering program, and that the odds shift year to year depending on how many people apply. (That said, Waterloo does publish some numbers, which we’ll cover later in this article.) It also says no decision is made on grades alone, which fits a wider pattern in how Ontario universities choose between students with the same high average.

So the more useful question is a different one. Along with the average on your child’s report card, the admissions committee is looking at what kind of student they are, and what they were doing in the months and years before filling out the OUAC application.

Key points: Waterloo Engineering requires 3 things, and only 1 of them is grades. Applicants must submit:

• Marks for 6 4U/4M courses, including English, Physics, Chemistry, Advanced Functions, and Calculus and Vectors
• An Admission Information Form (AIF)
• An online video interview

Both the AIF and the online video interview are mandatory for admission to every Engineering program except Architecture. Question 5 of the AIF asks for activities and hours logged between January 1 and December 31 of the application year, which for most students covers the second half of Grade 11, the summer, and the first half of Grade 12. Waterloo says it looks for initiative, leadership, time management, people skills, and a range of interests, and states that it does not expect engineering-related experience. The AIF is reviewed by trained human scorers and by an artificial intelligence system, with identifying information removed.

What do students who get into Waterloo Engineering have in common?

Sure, they had strong marks. But what else?

They were already working the way the application measures, before there was an application to fill out.

After more than 15 years of watching which students end up with offers, I have noticed patterns. They weren’t always doing the exotic thing, like flying halfway across the world to build robot caregivers for orphaned dogs (although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this). Many were doing things in their neighbourhoods or communities earlier, and with more intent, than everyone around them.

They worked ahead. When a class hit a stretch without quizzes or labs, a week with nothing due and no test coming, they used it to get further ahead, seek out a different opportunity, or brush up on something shaky. Most students treat those weeks as time off, and that’s okay. Rest is vital. But students who proactively take their learning into their own hands are more inclined to treat these quieter stretches as time to learn something new, gain a new experience, or develop a skill.

A quick caveat before we go any further. There is a big difference between a student who uses quieter weeks to advance toward goals and a student who grinds to the point of burnout. We’re not aiming to be the latter.

Strong students often spread attention evenly across everything in front of them, giving the same energy to a homework set worth 1% of their overall mark as to the unit that 30% of the exam is based on. Students who end up with competitive offers work just as hard, but they aim their effort more intentionally. That difference compounds most in Grades 11 and 12, and this kind of time management is one of the most crucial habits we work on with students heading into competitive STEM programs.

The students who get competitive offers also stayed in clubs and extracurriculars long enough to become responsible for something. Rather than joining (or starting) a pile of clubs in Grade 12, they held 2 or 3 commitments long enough that, by the time somebody asked, they had run something, fixed something, or trained somebody.

And they had lives. Sleep, friends, a sport, a job, family. These aren’t “bonuses” or afterthoughts, either. Waterloo states that students who can excel academically while also engaging in activities outside the classroom are more likely to succeed in a demanding Engineering program, and it built that belief into the form.

What are the questions on the Waterloo AIF?

The AIF asks 5 questions. The first 4 have a 150-word limit each, and the 5th is an activity chart with hours.

The same 5 questions go to every applicant to every Waterloo program that uses the AIF, which is why a student submits the form only once. Nothing on it is Engineering-specific, and that might surprise some students. They arrive expecting to be asked about engineering and find themselves asked about fairness and about who they went to for advice.

Question 1: A passion or strong interest. Waterloo asks how and when the interest started, how long it’s been going, what the student has learned about themselves from it, and how they’ll apply that to university. Note how much of that is chronology. This question can be challenging if the interest was picked up in September of Grade 12.

Question 2: Community involvement. The question asks about a group, organization, or community the student has been part of, what they contributed, whether they were able to lead or influence others or influence decisions for the good of the group, and how the community is better for their involvement. The key term here is contributed. Passive membership is a common response, but responsibility is what stands out.

Question 3: Experience reflection. This asks about a situation where the student was treated unfairly, or watched someone else be treated unfairly: what they did at the time and why, what they’d do differently now, and whether it changed who they are. This is the question students are least ready for, because there’s no way to prepare a credential for it. It rewards honest reflection, and a rehearsed anecdote is easy for an experienced reader to spot.

Question 4: Goals for Waterloo. Here, the question asks about the student’s primary goal in attending, whether they’ve explored or have experience in the field they plan to pursue, and whether they turned to anyone for advice about alternatives or backup plans and how that person helped. The key is whether the choice was investigated or stumbled upon. A student who has genuinely looked into the program and thought about what else they might do has a sincere answer here.

Question 5: Outside the classroom. The question asks about activities at school, in the community, or at home, with hours attached. This is the one with the date window, and it’s covered in detail below.

A few mechanics are worth knowing before drafting. Questions 1 to 4 each have a 150-word limit, and any character limits on the form count spaces and punctuation. There’s no spell check inside the form, so Waterloo itself recommends writing responses first in a separate document and pasting them in. The AIF is the only supplementary form a student can save and return to before submitting. Once submitted, it can’t be edited or viewed again.

What year does the Waterloo AIF ask about?

One calendar year, January 1 to December 31 of the application year, and it closes before the application is due.

This is the part almost nobody explains to families in time.

The Admission Information Form is mandatory for every Waterloo Engineering program except Architecture. Question 5 asks students to describe what they were involved in outside their studies, at school, in the community, or at home, and to include the number of hours spent on each activity between January 1 and December 31 of the application year. Waterloo spells out what that covers for most applicants: the second semester of Grade 11, the summer, and the first semester of Grade 12.

Waterloo is explicit that if a student has been part of something for more than 12 months, they should report only the portion that falls inside that window. 10 years of piano counts only for the hours logged that year.

For a student applying to start in September 2027, the reported year runs from January 2026 to December 2026.

What extracurriculars does Waterloo Engineering want to see?

Engineering extracurriculars are only part of the answer. Waterloo says it looks for initiative, leadership, time management, people skills, and a range of interests.

A lot of well-meaning families spend valuable time and resources on the wrong things here, so it’s worth stating the Faculty’s own position directly. Waterloo Engineering says it is not looking for specific extracurricular activities and does not expect applicants to have engineering-related experience.

It also names something families consistently underrate. A part-time job, a summer job, or a volunteer role that resembles a real work environment strengthens an application, because every Waterloo Engineering student goes into co-op, and work experience makes landing that first placement easier.

The key areas of focus here are initiative, time management, and a range of interests. What Waterloo is describing is the student who works ahead, aims their effort, and still has a life. The form is the one part of the application built to identify that student.

A few more things Waterloo has settled, which save families real anxiety:

• Math and computing contests are not required for Engineering, and contest scores are not used in the applicant review. A student can still mention contest involvement on the AIF as evidence of genuine interest.
• A spare or 2 in the final year will not hurt an Engineering application.
• Repeating a required course carries no penalty. Waterloo uses the highest grade in that course when calculating the admission average.
• Courses taken outside of regular day school are accepted when the school is provincially accredited, including summer, night, online, and private school. Waterloo states applicants will not be penalized for this.
• Links are not reviewed. A student can link a portfolio or an award page, but Waterloo will read only what’s written inside the form.

How is the Waterloo AIF scored?

By trained human reviewers and by an AI system, with names and applicant numbers removed before review.

Waterloo states this openly, and it explains why the proactive student writes a better form almost by accident.

Every AIF is reviewed by people trained on supplementary forms and by an AI system. Where the 2 scores differ significantly, a second human reads the submission. Before any of that happens, identifying details such as name and applicant number are stripped out to reduce bias. Waterloo says the AI system and its data are managed by the university and are not sent to third-party AI services.

Now picture what that reader has in front of them: thousands of anonymous responses, a rubric, and a 150-word limit per question.

A student who ran the Tuesday youth healthy movement program for 15 disadvantaged children and rebuilt the curriculum after the lead director left in February has given the rubric something specific to work with. A student who is vaguely passionate about leadership and teamwork needs more depth.

Specific details are what help an applicant stand out from everyone else describing their leadership and teamwork.

Tempted to use ChatGPT? On AI-written responses, Waterloo notes that no one, including ChatGPT, knows the student better than the student does, and it reserves the right to deny admission or withdraw an offer where AI has been used to produce untrue, incorrect, or plagiarized answers. The same shortcut causes trouble long before Grade 12, when the homework looks fine but the tests don’t.

What is the Waterloo Engineering adjustment factor, and how much does it matter?

It’s a school-level adjustment of marks based on how a high school’s graduates have historically performed in first year, and Waterloo says it carries less weight than grades, the AIF, or the interview.

Waterloo Engineering confirms it applies an adjustment factor based on the historical performance of students from a given school, calculated as first-year university averages minus final high school averages, over 6 or more years. Waterloo says this helps it identify applicants with the highest likelihood of success.

You’ll find spreadsheets, forum threads, and blog posts treating this as the secret lever behind every decision. Waterloo’s own answer is more measured. The Faculty states that the adjustment is only a small part of the overall admissions decision, and that academic performance, the AIF, and the online interview each have more impact on an applicant’s probability of receiving an offer.

Which is exactly the point for a family. The adjustment factor is the one input you cannot move. The year, the record, the marks, and the form are the ones you can.

The leverage, as a formula

What the AIF can show = What was true by December 31 × How specifically it’s written

Multiplied, not added. Excellent writing cannot manufacture a year that didn’t happen. And a genuinely full, demanding, interesting year written up in vague borrowed language will read as thin to an anonymous reviewer working from a rubric.

When should a student start preparing for a Waterloo Engineering application?

Earlier than the application. The reported year begins 18 months before the offer arrives.

Grades 9 and 10. The goal for these years is to explore interests and establish a solid foundation. If a student is determined to pursue Waterloo Engineering, these years are about becoming the student who can sustain competitive marks while having a life outside school. Aim to pick 2 or 3 things and stay in them long enough to end up responsible for something. Build the habit of using slower weeks instead of coasting through them.

Grade 11. The reporting window opens in January of this year, and most families have no idea. This is the year to:

• move from general memberships into roles with responsibilities
• get the summer job
• confirm the Grade 12 math path is actually in place
• start being deliberate about where effort goes

The marks begin to count for more here, too.

Grade 12, first semester. The reporting window closes December 31. Anything that’s going to count needs to be happening now. Have your child keep a running note of activities and hours as they go, because reconstructing a year from memory in late January is how real accomplishments get left off the form.

Grade 12, January. This period is for writing, finishing touches, and logistics. Draft in Word first, since there’s no spell check inside the form, and keep each of Questions 1 to 4 within its 150-word limit. Screenshot everything before submitting, because once the AIF is submitted, it can’t be edited, changed, or even viewed again. It’s submitted once and used for every Waterloo program that requires it.

Which Waterloo Engineering programs are the most competitive?

Waterloo sets a minimum required mark of 70% in each required subject. But meeting the minimum required mark doesn’t mean your child’s average is competitive for admission.

This is where the minimum competitive average matters.

Waterloo publishes a minimum competitive average for each program alongside its predicted first-year class size. Sorted by competitiveness, most of the seats sit below the band families worry about most.

Program figures and average ranges are from the University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering admission requirements page, checked in November 2026. Waterloo describes these as minimum competitive averages, not cut-offs, and notes there is no absolute grade cut-off for any program.

3 things become visible once the data is sorted this way.

Almost half of Waterloo Engineering’s first-year seats, roughly 860 out of about 1,760, are in programs where the published minimum competitive average is high 80s to low 90s. The low-to-mid-90s band that dominates family conversation holds about 1 seat in 7.

Computer Engineering is the largest single program in the Faculty at a predicted 240 seats, and it sits 1 band below Software Engineering despite the overlap in subject matter and career paths. That’s worth knowing before a student commits to a single program on the OUAC form.

And the smallest programs aren’t the most competitive ones. Geological Engineering has a predicted 30 seats and sits in the lowest band. Class size and competitiveness are separate variables, which is the opposite of what most families assume.

The numbers shouldn’t decide which program a student chooses. What they can do is stop a family from ruling a program out too early.

What are the Waterloo Engineering deadlines for Fall 2027 entry?

Waterloo Engineering has no early consideration deadline. Decisions begin in December, but only a small number. Most are made between February and May, and all are finalized by mid-May.

One caution worth flagging. A few Waterloo pages, including the student-written Missing Manual and parts of the general deadlines page, still describe the Engineering video interview as optional or “strongly recommended,” while the Faculty of Engineering’s admissions pages and the AIF page list it as required for admission. Treat it as required. When 2 pages on the same site disagree, trust the admission requirements pages, and confirm dates on Waterloo’s official deadlines page rather than any summary of it, including this one.

Common questions about applying to Waterloo Engineering

Is the AIF mandatory for Waterloo Engineering?

Yes. It’s required for every Engineering program except Architecture. Waterloo states that if the AIF isn’t completed by the document deadline, the application will be denied.

Is the Waterloo Engineering video interview required?

Yes. Waterloo lists the Online Engineering Interview as required for admission to all Engineering programs and for Faculty of Engineering entrance scholarship consideration. Software Engineering applicants complete an additional written question, and Systems Design applicants have a second video question used for 1 specific award. The interview is pre-recorded rather than live.

Can my child apply to more than one Waterloo Engineering program?

Only 1 on the OUAC application. A separate Engineering Program Alternate Choice form in the applicant portal allows a second option. Biomedical and Software Engineering aren’t available as alternates, and applicants are reviewed for the alternate only if they aren’t admitted to their first choice, near the end of the cycle.

What average is competitive for Waterloo Engineering?

Waterloo publishes ranges by program instead of cut-offs. Architectural, Chemical, Civil, Environmental, Geological, Management, and Nanotechnology Engineering sit in the mid to high 80s. Biomedical, Computer, Mechanical, Mechatronics, and Systems Design sit in the high 80s to low 90s. Electrical and Software sit in the low to mid 90s. The same page repeats that there’s no absolute cut-off and that no decision is made on grades alone.

What courses does Waterloo Engineering require?

6 Grade 12 U/M courses, including English, Physics, Chemistry, Advanced Functions, and Calculus and Vectors, with a minimum of 70 in each required course. Architecture has a different required set and a minimum of 78 in English.

Does IB or AP help?

Waterloo converts those courses to the Ontario equivalents before calculating the admission average, and states that being in an IB or AP program won’t affect the chance of an offer.

What if something went wrong academically?

Waterloo has a formal special consideration process for applicants whose academics were affected by exceptional circumstances. It’s worth reviewing rather than assuming a hard year is disqualifying.

Can someone review the AIF before it’s submitted?

The student has to write it. What a good coach can do is help them see which parts of their year are worth reporting, ask the questions that turn a vague memory into a specific one, and check that what they’ve written is clear, accurate, and within the limits. That’s the line we hold, and Waterloo’s own policy is the reason it exists.

Requirements and deadlines change, so confirm details on Waterloo’s official pages before applying.

About the Author

Francesca Cadhit is the founder of Top Class Edge Learning, a high school academic coaching and tutoring practice serving families across Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and the wider GTA. For more than 15 years, she has worked with over 100 York Region families, including students admitted to Waterloo Engineering, McMaster Health Sciences, and U of T Computer Science. Her team of Ontario-curriculum tutor-coaches and consultants works on the habits underneath the marks: how to study, how to aim effort, and how to build a record that speaks for itself by the time an application is due. Francesca holds an HBSc from the University of Toronto, received the Governor General’s Academic Medal, and has trained in educational consulting through IECA.

To talk through your child’s plans, book a free 15-minute call or email francesca@topclassedge.com.

Sources

• University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering, “Admission requirements”
• University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering, “Admissions frequently asked questions”
• University of Waterloo, “Admission Information Form (AIF) and other supplementary forms”
• University of Waterloo, “Common questions about the AIF”
• University of Waterloo, “Application and document deadlines”