Why I Chose Waterloo…

It was just last year that I was trying to make one of the biggest decision any student could make in their life, choosing what post-secondary institution I wanted to go to. I knew from when I was little that I wanted to become an engineer, so that narrowed down my list a little. Mom says, “Go to Carleton, you can stay home!” Friend says, “Go to Queen’s, you can get a great education and have the best parties of your life there!” There were so many options to consider! What is a girl to do?! Teacher says, “Go to Waterloo, it’s a great school for engineering!” Then I thought to myself, why is Waterloo so great? One of the biggest reasons why I came to Waterloo was because of their co-op program. I think engineering is such a competitive career, companies hire people not only based on grades, but mostly on past experience and personality. Waterloo is the only university that can offer 2 years of work experience that count towards your 4 years needed to become a professional engineer. Through co-op you gain skills through the interviewing process and resume critiquing. Engineering is the type of career that demands practical and analytical knowledge. Secondly, I know a lot of universities that have first year classes of like 500 people! To me that seems ridiculous, because in high school we are all used to such a small setting, the abilities to ask questions, and have a one on one experience with teachers. The transition is so difficult as it is! At Waterloo, the class sizes are much smaller, which gives you the abilities to ask questions and actually get to talk to professors. You can practically touch them! Haha joking. I remember my first day of physics class; I was like wow this guy is awesome! Everyone was so engaged in his lecture and he actually wanted people to come up to him after class and ask him questions. He made a strong effort to actually know everyone’s name! Now how many people can say their Prof knows them as a real person, rather than a number?! Haha I can’t say it was like that for all Profs though! Even though this is a huge decision to make, just weigh your options, and remember nothing is written in stone! Anyways, those are the major reasons why I chose Waterloo. I hope it helped you in your choice! Stay tuned for next week’s blog.