Written by Arry Pandher and Kim Spencer

Wondering “When does Waterloo send acceptances?” Are you waiting for your acceptance letter from Waterloo and wondering why you haven’t heard from them yet? Well, wonder no more! Waterloo makes admission decisions between January and May, as they receive updated grades from all students.

Read on to learn more about Waterloo’s acceptance procedure!

If you don’t receive an offer of admission before May, that’s okay. You’re still being considered! Most offers of admission at Waterloo are made in mid-May once they receive second-semester mid-term grades from Ontario schools. By waiting, they can compare all students fairly by reviewing grades from both semesters. The grades we receive in May often include courses that are required for admission.

Application Deadlines

Before applying, have a look a this chart to see the application deadlines:

Make sure to check out our How to Apply to Waterloo Blog for helpful tips on the application process!

Submitting your Documents

Once you’ve applied, you’ll need to submit documents so that Waterloo can review your application and make an admission decision. Before the deadline, make sure you’ve submitted the proper documents, which all depends on where you went to high school! Read on to see which documents you’ll need to submit!

Ontario High School Students

If you’re attending high school in Ontario or have graduated from an Ontario high school, you will need to submit:

• An Admission Information Form and English language test results (if applicable) by the deadline.
• The Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) and Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) programs have an assessment.
• Engineering programs recommend completing a video interview by the document’s deadline.

All other students

If you’re attending or have graduated from a high school anywhere outside of Ontario, you’ll need to submit:

• Your transcripts, English language test results (if applicable), and Admission Information Form by the deadline.
• The Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) and Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) programs have an assessment.
• Engineering programs recommend completing a video interview by the document’s deadline.

Do you want to stand out among other applicants?

On top of your grades, Waterloo looks at other factors when making admissions decisions. As you may know, they accept approximately 53% of applicants, so make sure you use the Admission Information Form (AIF) to brag a little about yourself and talk about your extracurricular activities.

What is the Admission Information Form?

• It’s an online form that consists of short answer questions and helps Waterloo’s admissions committees learn more about you. They use the AIF in place of personal statements or essays that other universities may require. It’s a required part of the application process for all programs in the Faculties of Engineering and Mathematics, along with the Architecture, Computing and Financial Management, Conditional Admission to Pharmacy, Optometry, and Pharmacy programs. It’s highly recommended for all other programs.

How do you submit your AIF?:

Here’s a handy step-by-step list to answer that question!

1. Create an account in Quest, Waterloo’s online student information system.
2. Once you have a Quest account, you can log in and complete the questions before the AIF deadline.
3. The AIF is not accessible on mobile devices.
4. Watch Waterloo’s videos about how to complete your AIF.
5. Step-by-step screen shots on the Quest website can also walk you through the process.

Tip: Be sure to click <submit> on each page when completing your form in Quest.

1. We recommend preparing your answers in advance so that you can check for spelling, punctuation, and grammar before submitting.

What to do while waiting for an acceptance offer

As mentioned, the admissions process can take a few months as Waterloo waits to receive updated grades from all applicants. While you’re waiting, it can be incredibly valuable to tour the universities you applied to! Asking questions during a campus tour will let you learn what it’s like to be a student at the university program you applied to and to experience different universities first hand. Just remember that registration will be required for these general campus tours, so be sure to check the website for further details as they become available.

How will you know if you received an offer?

There are three ways to learn if you’ve been admitted.

1. Waterloo will email you the exciting news and let you know what your next steps are.
2. Your Offer of Admission will be posted to your Waterloo Quest account (see how to check your application status). You’ll be able to download an official offer of admission in case you need that for a student visa application.
3. Your Ontario Universities’ Application Centre account will list the admissions status for each program/university you applied to.

What to do after receiving an offer

If you receive one or more offers of admission, congratulations! You’ve worked hard in high school and it’s paid off. Remember the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre website where you started the application process? That’s where you’ll go to accept an offer of admission regardless of which Ontario university you plan to attend.

You’ll also have to submit official documents after you accept an offer, so have a look at this screenshot taken from Waterloo’s website:

Below is info for Canadian High-school students only

And for international students:

Make sure to check out this page for more information on reserving your spot on residence, finances, and what it’s like to be a Waterloo Warrior!

We hope that answered you initial question, “When does Waterloo send acceptances?”.

If you’d like to know more about how GrantMe can support your goal of getting into Waterloo, start by taking our quiz to see if you qualify!