College Visits School Spotlight: University of Waterloo Written by Elyse Krantzon July 17th, 2018 I became interested in the college admissions process after serving as a student tour guide in the admissions office of my alma mater. After graduating, I accepted an admissions counseling position at Bennington College in Vermont where I evaluated applications and reviewed art portfolios from students across the country. Three years later, after pursuing my master's degree in New York City, I joined the admissions staff at Barnard College where I served as a senior admissions officer. At Barnard, I directed Long Island and Boston recruitment in addition to managing the College's alumnae interview program, coordinating admissions statistics, and editing various college publications. Having also served as an alumni interviewer for Dartmouth College and visited over 75 colleges, I feel especially well-equipped to help students prepare for admission interviews and campus tours. Learn More About Elyse choosing the right college, college lists, college visits, There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. And for some students, this includes schools beyond the U.S., too! As such, we are highlighting an international college this week in our School Spotlight series. School Spotlight: University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Driven by a mission to change the world through innovation and research, the University of Waterloo has featured top-notch engineering and co-op programs since its founding in 1957. The school of engineering, which attracts the greatest number of the university’s 32,000 undergraduates, offers majors within 15 unique disciplines, including harder-to-find programs like geological engineering, management engineering, mechatronics engineering, and nanotechnology engineering. But for many students here in the U.S., it’s the school of computer science that’s the greatest draw. With more than 80 faculty members and 3,300 undergraduates, the school is considered the largest academic computer science research center in Canada. In addition to majoring in computer science, CS students can customize their degrees by minoring in options such as artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, and human-computer interaction. And for those students seeking additional hands-on work, the university’s co-op program virtually ensures that CS graduates will receive six paid internship experiences during their five years on campus. Waterloo’s entire co-op program enrolls more than 60% of the undergraduate population, and supports majors as diverse as public health and philosophy to architecture and actuarial science. Fun fact: attending school in Canada means plenty of opportunities for athletic involvement. The university boasts 32 varsity teams in 19 sports including curling, figure skating, and Nordic skiing. Image Credit: Top, Courtesy University of Waterloo Related Resources Read | Posted on November 28th, 2023 Campus Visits: How to Get Started and Where to Visit Read | Posted on December 1st, 2021 The Challenges of College Admissions in the COVID Era Read | Posted on June 10th, 2021 Virtual Campus Visit Etiquette
